The Brag #509

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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Natalie Amat, Mina Kitsos and Lisa Omagari.

five things WITH

THE STEVENS gives lectures in his kitchen on Yes and Pete Townshend. Alex has inherited a music encyclopaedia for a brain and also gives lectures. My dad painted the cover of New Zealand band the Abel Tasmans’ album Somebody Ate My Planet, and owned a few Flying Nun releases. Alex and I met when I moved to Melbourne to study.

2.

Growing Up My name is Travis MacDonald and I 1. play in a band called The Stevens. I write songs with Alex MacFarlane. He grew up in Melbourne. I grew up in Elphinstone, Victoria.

He played drums to ‘Wild Thing’ in grade three at his school concert with his father.

I’m told the second verse was replaced with a drum solo. I started playing bass when I was 11 and formed a band called the Kites

when I was 13 with our current drummer Matt Harkin. We played battle of the bands. When Alex was around 16, he drummed in a band called Showcard with our current bass player Gus Lord – they became state champions.

My parents didn’t own any records or many rock CDs and the music store in Castlemaine took four months to receive orders. I watched a lot of Rage and recorded my own songs instead. Alex’s dad is a rock historian who

Inspirations Being a musician is interesting in the Internet age. A lot of originality and imagination in music now seems to come from composing different combinations of influences. You can play in multiple eras at the same time. We like Brian Eno, Guided

by Voices, R. Stevie Moore, The 3Ds, The Clean, Television, Big Star, Television Personalities, Talking Heads, The Modern Lovers, Neil Young, Black Flag, Krautrock and much more. Gus and I like paintings and Matt is almost an architect. My favourite albums growing up were Ry Cooder’s Paris Texas soundtrack, End Of The Century by the Ramones, The Who’s Kids Are Alright soundtrack, Television’s Adventure and the Topless Women Talk About Their Lives compilation.

Your Band The Stevens began as an alliance of 3.

Alex’s and my own home recording projects.

There are constant differences in opinions between us, which is enjoyable. Carefully deciding which ideas to compromise, and at what time, is how we construct a lot of songs.

The Music You Make We have a six track EP that is about to 4. be reissued on 7” by Chapter Music, which we recorded in Alex and my homes in late 2011. It is being launched in Sydney on Saturday April 27 at the Old Fitzroy Hotel with Day Ravies and Adults. We have just finished an album, which will be released in a few months. Half of it was recorded by Mikey Young and the other half is mostly a mixture of mine and Alex’s home projects.

Music, Right Here, Right Now The music scene in Melbourne is very 5. rich and complex. There are many different scenes within many different genres. We like Deaf Wish, Dick Diver, Deep Heat, White Walls, Twerps, Full Ugly, Agents of Abhorrence, Extortion, Love of Diagrams and too many more to mention.

What: The Stevens debut EP vinyl release When: Saturday April 17 Where: Old Fitzroy Hotel More: chaptermusic.com.au

BOOMTOWN RATS ON THE MOVE

Bob “feed the world” Geldof and co. have moved their Tuesday May 21 show at the Entertainment Centre to the more weekendfriendly Thursday May 23 at the Enmore Theatre. Folks with existing tickets for The Boomtown Rats needn’t worry, they’re still good for the new gig, and fresh tickets are also available now from the new venue.

PUBLISHERS: Adam Zammit & Rob Furst EDITOR IN CHIEF: Adam Zammit 9552 6333 adam@peergroupmedia.com EDITOR: Nick Jarvis nick@thebrag.com 02 9690 2731 ARTS EDITOR: Lisa Omagari lisa@thebrag.com 02 9552 6333 STAFF WRITERS: Benjamin Cooper, Alasdair Duncan NEWS: Natalie Amat, Mina Kitsos, Lisa Omagari, Chris Honnery

GOODGOD GETS SCARY

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Kate Lewis, Ashley Mar ADVERTISING: Ross Eldridge - 0422 659 425 / (02) 9690 0806 ross@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 8394 9027 les@thebrag.com GIG & CLUB GUIDE CO-ORDINATOR: Conrad Richters - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock) clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) ONLINE & SOCIAL MEDIA: Tanydd Jaquet AWESOME INTERNS: Natalie Amat, Katie Davern, Tanydd Jaquet, Mina Kitsos REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Ian Barr, Simon Binns, Katie Davern, Marissa Demetriou, Christie Eliezer, Chris Honnery, Kate Jinx, Nathan Jolly, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Jody Macgregor, Alicia Malone, Chris Martin, Jenny Noyes, Hugh Robertson, Rebecca Saffir, Jonno Seidler, Rach Seneviratne, Luke Telford, Simon Topper, Rick Warner, Krissi Weiss, Caitlin Welsh, David Wild Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this address 8a Marlborough Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9552 6333 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of The BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Stephen Forde : accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Wednesday 12pm (no extensions) Artwork/ad bookings: Thursday 12pm (no extensions).

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Xxx

Phil Collins, the legend behind the drum fi ll that pretty much came to defi ne the ‘80s, and more importantly, the Tarzan soundtrack, has also inspired Melbournites Big Scary’s haunting new track, titled - wait for it - ‘Phil Collins’. It’s the first taste of their upcoming album No Art, and they’re taking it on tour around the country. You can expect to hear it (along with several others, we’d venture) when they descend on Goodgod this Wednesday April 24, bringing along special guest “not your average folktronic artist” Caitlin Park to warm up the stage (and audience’s hearts).

BORIS

Psychedelic, experimental Japanese rock trio Boris will be returning to our shores with their visceral live show and genre-transcending melodies this June. Since their 1996 debut, the shoegazers have released over 20 albums on various labels worldwide, proving a magnetic force with their distinct blend of vitriolic punk and all-consuming drone – but on this trip they’ll be doing an ATP and playing their seminal album Flood in full at Manning Bar on Friday June 21.

MORE THAN PUB ROCK

The quest to make Parramatta Road a “live music and cultural hub” has received another boost. Last week Marrickville Council passed the motion to “work with Leichhardt Council and the City of Sydney to investigate what policies and programs can be implemented to support the development of the section of Parramatta Road between Sydney University and Taverner’s Hill as a live music and cultural precinct, to nurture live music, comedy and theatre, small bars, and ancillary music industry businesses.”

Councillor Melissa Brooks said, “It would be remiss of Council to focus only on pub rock at the expense of some really exciting and creative stuff happening elsewhere.”

SPLENDOUR LEAKS AND RUMOURS

The 2013 Splendour in the Grass line-up is due out this week, but there’ve already been a few slippages from acts, including Matt Berninger of The National, who revealed the Brooklyn band will be making the trip with their new album Trouble Will Find Me (out May 17 on 4AD/Remote Control). Airbourne, The Polyphonic Spree and James Blake have also dropped hints that they’ll be attending, while July tour rumours surround Big Boi, Alt-J, Of Monsters and Men and Jake Bugg, amongst others.

You Am I

EXTRA BRITISH INDIA

With nine years, three top-ten albums and one Neighbours performance under their belt, “mediocrity-defying” rockers British India returned to speakers and headphones around the nation last month with their fourth effort Controller, which has already earned them serious critical and commercial kudos. So much so that the guys have expanded their Controller tour, adding a host of new dates around the country. If you missed their Metro gig a couple of weeks back, you can find out if they can in fact make you love them when they roll into Mona Vale Hotel on June 8.

JAPANDROIDS OZ BOUND

If you’re Canadian, having your song named as the official entrance theme for the Vancouver Canucks ice hockey team is probably the greatest honour your country can bestow upon you (besides an invitation to the nuptials of other Canadian rock-royalty Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger). Despite the fact that ‘House That Heaven Built’ will be blaring from ice-rinks around their nation, “semi-professional rock band” Japandroids have found some free time to head back to Oz for a primo headline tour of their very own, following their Laneway domination a couple of months back. Fans of ridiculously catchy “maximal” guitar-rock magic and/or robots from Asian nations can snap up tickets to their August 31 show at Manning Bar this very second.

MORE YOU AM I

Missed out on tickets to see You Am I on their Hi Fi Daily Double tour?

Stress less, dear friends, because they’ve just announced additional shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, and released a further date in Brisbane. Bona fide You Am I fans can help the Aussie rockers celebrate their 20 year anniversary at new shows in Sydney on August 1 at Enmore Theatre, in Melbourne on July 3-4 at Forum Theatre, in Perth on July 14 at Astor Theatre and in Brisbane on June 26 at Tivoli Theatre. New shows have also been announced for Canberra, Newcastle and Wollongong. Tickets on sale now.

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rock music news

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Natalie Amat, Mina Kitsos and Lisa Omagari.

five things WITH

BLACKCHORDS

NKECHI ANELE OF SASKWATCH that with Saskwatch songs I know I am doing something right.

Your Band Saskwatch is a nine3. person monster. The band itself

Growing Up My family has always loved 1. music. I grew up in a household

Inspirations I was, and still am, drawn 2. to people who make you really

that played continuous Nigerian funk, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Otis Redding and Elvis.

My dad comes from Nigeria where music and life are intertwined so singing whilst doing the laundry, cooking, shopping, or when you were happy, bored or upset was the norm in my house.

feel what they are singing in their songs. I remember when I first heard Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect,’ we were driving in the car somewhere and my mother had a mixed tape of soul music. Aretha sounded to me like electricity and the power of how she made you feel was incredible. If I can do

THE BLACK SEEDS RETURN

Black seeds are not just aromatic, they’re used to treat a variety of ailments - apparently the pharaoh King Tut had a bottle of them in his tomb. Beyond being a natural remedy, these little super seeds share their name with the masterful NZ reggae masters, who are themselves a remedy to pedestrian musical fare. The Black Seeds are making the trip across the Tasman once again with their much-lauded live show (Clash Mag named them “one of the best live reggae acts on the planet”). But to limit them to just one genre would do the Kiwi crew a serious disservice - last year’s Dust And Dirt saw the group expand their sound to pull in elements of funk, rock and disco, and they’re bringing that new groove to Selinas on Friday April 26.

BUCHANAN’S HUMAN SPRING

Melbourne band Buchanan is set to release debut album, Human Spring, on May 10.

Vocalist Josh Simons, guitarist Luke Shields, bassist Miles de Carteret and drummer Dan Barwick set out to make tracks that carried emotional punch so we’re pretty keen to see how much Human Spring can move us.

Co-produced by Simon and Catherine Marks (Foals, Death Cab for Cutie, Interpol, Kanye), the album was recorded across seven different studios to avoid the DIY production of the

formed during university; in the beginning it was a busking band outside of Flinders Street Station, a musical outlet in between and after class and a fast way to get money, with even more people in it than what it has now. We were discovered by a radio DJ and asked to do an on-air performance and that’s when the name Saskwatch was created. From there, we had a three year residency at Cherry Bar in Melbourne, where new members joined and we refi ned our performance, grew a pretty strong following, and became the band that you see today.

The Music You Make Most of our influences 4. come from 1950s and 60s soul like Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and James Brown, as well as more modern bands such as Alabama Shakes, Royal

Headache, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The Menahan Street Band, Arctic Monkeys and The Dap Kings. Our new single ‘I Get Lonely’ is a new sound for Saskwatch - it was recorded in the John Curtain Band Room by Mikey Young from Eddy Current Suppression Ring.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

The hardest thing about being a musician is getting your stuff heard and being in the right place at the right time with the right people. I guess in Melbourne we’re fairly lucky that there is a strong and vibrant live music scene because there is always a venue that will cater for every kind of music genre.

I think the best thing about the “local” music scene is that the standard of music and playing is so high that there is really a small gap between professional and amateur musicians.

With: Gum Ball, Hunter Valley / Oxford Art Factory When: Friday April 26 / Saturday April 27

band’s first couple of EPs. Human Spring is inspired by political events and the emotions associated with them; the album’s narrative explores these themes by following the plight of a soldier who experiences feelings of lust, temptation and separation. Watch this space for upcoming tour announcements.

GUM BALL CD PACKS The Beards

The super chill Gum Ball Festival kicks off on ANZAC Day this week until Sunday at Maitland Showground. They’ve already sold out, but if you missed out we’ve got the next best thing for you, a huge prize pack of CDs from featured artists including Mia Dyson, Jordie Lane, The Beards, The Preatures, The Eastern, Pony Face, Howlin’ Steam Train, The Medics, Starboard Cannons and more. For a chance to win, just drop us an email to the above address and tell us which Canadian duo were headlining Gum Ball this year.

SHAUN KIRK

He’s a blues and soul maestro, a multiinstrumentalist and a one-man-band. Yeah, Shaun Kirk sounds like a bit of a dreamboat and he’s headed to Sydney’s Cat and Fiddle on May 4 as part of his national CD and DVD release tour. Kirk’s latest album and accompanying DVD, The Wick Sessions, channels his Delta blues influences and devotion to Tony Joe White, Eric Clapton and BB King. Stay tuned because Kirk plans to release another full-length studio album in late 2013.

SMOKESCREEN

Mysterious music festival Smokescreen is running a competition with mascot Max the Rock Dog, a “former sniffer dog turned fulltime Anti-Smoking Crusader.” Here’s the deal — if you’ve got a cute canine in your life then snap a picture of them and post it to facebook. com/smokescreenmusicfestival to find out more...

Underground Lovers

Australian dream-pop legends undergroundLOVERS have announced their first album in 14 years and, as if that wasn’t enough to get our hearts a-thumping, the band will be debuting the new material on a tour of the East Coast. Weekend, their first release since the ‘90s, is inspired by Jean-Luc Godard’s eponymous 1967 film and promises a musical journey that could soundtrack exquisite ‘60s fashion, frustrating traffic jams, murder and cannibalism (seriously, look up the synopsis). Already the reviews trickling in are gushing, with words like “hypnotic”, “engaging”, “triumph” and the like. You’ve got a couple of weeks to spin their seventh album before the band plays Oxford Art Factory on Friday May 17, after wrapping up support duties for Happy Mondays and Peter Hook.

8 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

If you’re not the TV-watching type, chances are Melbourne’s Blackchords have slipped under your radar, with songs from their debut featuring on popular Aussie TV series like Offspring and Underbelly: Razor.

This month, Blackchords have dropped their new album, A Thin Line, and will play at The Brighton Up Bar on April 26 to celebrate its launch. The Brag knows that understated, slow burn indie-rock is perfect for TV series’ soundtracks, but we bet that Blackchords’ new album would sound EVEN BETTER coming from your music-playing device of choice – which is why we’re giving away three copies! If you wanna call one yours, then (in light of their latest single ‘Oh No’) humour us with a tale of regret so cringe-worthy that you may or may not have actually uttered ‘oh no’...

Howlin' Steam Train

HOWLIN’ STEAM TRAIN

Kicking off the band’s national tour and upcoming EP release Green Jelly, Howlin’ Steam Train are playing a Vanguard gig on Friday April 26. Fusing rock, soul and boogie, Howlin’ Steam Train are known to be ragged, relentless and freakin’ fun. They’re around the Sydney traps after spending summer in front of crowds at Falls and the inaugural Deni Blues & Roots Festival. Get your tix fast folks, because this train is due to depart. Supported by Los Tones and Blind Valley.

KIERAN RYAN

LOVIN’ WEEKEND

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

SOUNDS ON SUNSET

Wondered what’d happened to songwriter Kieran Ryan when he split from indie rock duo Kid Sam in 2010? Well wonder no longer because his debut album is now available as evidence of what he’s been up to since flying solo. The eponymously titled album draws on themes of passing time, history and our place in the world, and also involves a number of local musicians such as cellist Jessica Venables and trumpeter Dave Henry. Kieran Ryan is out now on Spunk Records.

Set halfway between Port Macquarie and Newcastle at the Sundowner Tiona Tourist Park, the very first Sounds on Sunset festival kicks off on Saturday May 18 with a weekend of art and live performances from the likes of Snowdroppers, Galleri and Mar Haze.

Industry types might also like to attend the Saturday morning conference discussing the future of events and music on the North Coast.

The $25 (+bf) ticket fee includes camping – or you can splash out on luxury accommodation.

MDC TOUR OZ

BLUESFEST WRAP UP

They formed in 1979, but it’s taken until now for hardcore legends MDC to visit Australia.

Ronald Reagan may be long gone, but the band’s vitriolic piss and vinegar has not weakened nor soured with age – catch them tearing the establishment a new hole at Hermann’s on Friday August 16.

LUNCHBREAKS AT FBI SOCIAL

Step away from Facebook, stop dropping food in your keyboard, and step outside for some live tunes in your next lunchbreak, courtesy of FBi Social. They’ve mixed together a tasty line up of talent for the return of their Wednesday Lunchbreak, including roots troubadour Steve Smyth (1pm, Wednesday April 17) and Sydney’s much-adored string masters Little Bastard (Wednesday April 24).

One hundred and twenty-nine bands, 1000 artists, 180 performances, 600 volunteers and over 23,000 coffees later, Bluefest 2013 was wrapped up and bundled in a cosy blanket of success. But the more pertinent news for fans is that over 6000 tickets to the festival’s 25th anniversary in 2014 were sold during the festival, meaning Bluesfest 2014 is already one third sold!

BROTHERS GRIM AND THE BLUE MURDERS

English teacher turned rock’n’roll hellraiser James Grim and his brother Matt combine country-tinged rhythms with enrapturing dark lyricism, and they’re bringing their “sexvoodoo-delta-blues-a-billy” sound to Manly’s Steyne for a free show on Thursday May 9, and the Annandale on Friday May 10.

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APRIL 27 CONCERT HALL TICKETS FROM $39*

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The Music Network

themusicnetwork.com

Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR

jammed with a house band cheered on

by Diddy and John Legend. Alas, cops stopped the show, saying there were too many people at the bash. * The Splendour line-up is out this week but The National are on, singer Matt Berninger confirmed. Meantime, Phoenix told triple j they’re here in summer.

Scottish electros CHVRCHES’ first tour of Oz is going off a treat: a second Sydney show has been added for Aug 3 after the first sold out. * A TV series is being shot around Bruno Mars’s four sisters as they record their debut album and find fame and fortune like their famous brudder. * The Blue Beat club in Double Bay is hosting a tribute to the late Ron Barry on Monday April 29. Barry started performing his funk, soul and R&B around Sydney’s venues in the ‘60s. Acts on the bill will be announced soon. * Hilltop Hoods’ new single ‘Shredding The Balloon’ got its world premiere on the website of Australian clothing company Zoo York (they’ve signed a deal to work on projects together). Their #1 album Drinking From The Sun has gone double platinum (140,000 sales). * Wollongong live music venue Oxford Tavern was sold to a Sydney developer after seven months on the market.

Meantime, Mackay’s Criterion nightclub is also for sale after its owner went into administration.

* One Night Stand attracted 18,000 to Dubbo – an attendance record for the triple j concert series. The previous record was 15,000 in Dalby in 2012. All accommodation in Dubbo sold out three weeks before, so some stayed in nearby towns, or in their vans, pitched tents in Elston Park or crashed at friends’ places.

Dubbo had nothing but praise for the crowds; Council’s Director of Corporate Development Ken Rogers said most moved on early the next day and left the place tidy. “There were no major issues,” he said. * Among those escaping the Boston Marathon blast was Joey McIntyre of New Kids On The Block, who finished his first marathon five minutes before. * Sydney agency 18 Feet & Rising won a gold world medal at the 2013 New York Festivals Film and Television awards for its MTV EXIT music video. The video, featuring Canada’s Simple Plan, was part of an ongoing campaign to stop human trafficking and child exploitation. * A quick poll by Billboard mag found that the crowd at America’s Coachella Festival regarded Tame Impala their fave new act. The Tames drew a healthy crowd despite being on at the same time as Paul Oakenfold and Rodriguez. * Bono was among those who attended Coachella. At Rolling Stone’s party, he

WEE WAA READIES FOR DAFT PUNK INVASION

an update on organisation and Sony Music’s John Parker detailed the launch and the community’s involvement. Playing the after-party are Olibusta (France), UK’s Marvin Roland and Crease, and Melbourne’s Mr Pyz and LA Pocock.

The NSW town of Wee Waa is preparing for the world to descend for Daft Punk’s album launch on May 17. All 4000 tickets to the listening party sold out in 13 minutes. The event is now expanded to the two-day Weekend Vines festival for 2,500. Narrabri Shire mayor Conrad Bolton held a presentation to update locals on providing up to 13,000 meals (not to mention loos and ATMs) and plans to put out of-towners in a 2000-bed tent city at festival site Seplin Estate winery and for locals to put others up in their homes. Wee Waa Show Society president Brett Dickinson provided

DOC BENEFIT RAISES $200K

Last Monday’s star-studded Rock For Doc benefit drew 2,500 to a positively bursting Enmore Theatre and raised $200,000, organiser Cat Swinton told Industrial Strength.

Extra moolah came from an auction, which included Doc Neeson’s stage gear and a framed guitar signed by all the acts snapped up

for $22,000 by a collector. It was one of the greatest love-ins Sydney had seen for some time, with Neeson insisting it be a night of celebrating music. Highlights included pollie Peter Garrett and his Oils mates kicking into ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place’ while David Hasselhoff did ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again?’ which he recorded as a single to raise money for Doc. A hearty well-done to Swinton who put in 20-hour days since early February to pull everything together in between running her company Catalyst PR.

VEVO: 23% MORE THAN AUSSIE RIVALS

A year after launching in Australia, video streaming service Vevo released figures which claim its reach is 23% greater than the combined TV catch-up services in this country. Last month it hosted 51 million streams, making it third behind YouTube and Facebook in video streaming platforms.

According to the figures, Vevo gets 38% of prime time viewing, with 90% of its viewers watching complete ads, compared to the industry average of 70%. 2.3 million Aussies watched Vevo in February, on average watching 15 videos and spending 60 minutes a month. Its biggest demographic is the 35+ age group (35%), 32% is 18-24, 21% 25-34 and 9% 12-17. Conversely, the highest viewed artists are One Direction (24.4m) and Justin Bieber (16m) with Guy Sebastian topping the Aussies at 5.7 million streams.

Vevo is a joint venture between Sony and Universal, and MCM Media in Australia.

CLARE HOLLAND TO MANAGE FBI 94.5

Clare Holland will take over as Managing Director of FBi 94.5FM on June 1. She is currently Executive Director of Underbelly Arts, an arts organisation dedicated to finding larger audiences for emerging artists. It’s a home-coming for Holland, who was in the original team which launched FBi before going on to undertake marketing, HR and financial roles at other Sydney arts and nonprofit organisations, including Sydney Festival and the Biennale of Sydney. Holland says, “I am a passionate advocate and lover of culture, and a strong believer in FBi’s impact on shaping the cultural landscape of Sydney over the last 10 years.”

NEW LABELS #1: PLASTIC WORLD

Former Future Classic label manager James McInnes and Astral People co-owner Vic Edirisinghe launched new boutique dance label Plastic World. It’ll initially focus on releasing 12” vinyls by Aussie acts and distributing overseas. The pair say that few Australian dance tracks find global success, and hope to change that. Plastic World’s first release is in late May: Sydney duo Alba’s ‘Knokke’/’Law’ remixed by Detroit’s Rick Wade and Jimmy Edgar.

E HIFI 1300 THO M.AU THEHIFI.C

Just Announced

NEW LABELS #2: MONOCARPIC

The Red Paintings

HTC & Speaker TV Presents

HTC & Speaker TV Presents

Fri 14 Jun

Hungry Kids of Hungary

Dappled Cities

Thu 20 Jun

Sat 6 Jul

Nejo Y Dalmata (PUR) Fri 26 Jul

SE LL IN G

FA ST

This Week

28 Days

Otep (USA)

Example (UK)

Enhanced (UK)

Wed 24 Apr

Thu 25 Apr

Fri 26 Apr

Sat 27 Apr

Coming Soon

Frightened Rabbit (UK)

Kimbra’s manager Mark Richardson has set up new boutique singles label Monocarpic Recordings. UK-born Richardson runs Melbourne-based Outpost Management, which also looks after Bertie Blackman. Richardson says the problem with most labels is that they sign acts for a long time, yet “their commitment is based on short term expectations. I wanted to create a vehicle that allows these moments to live and set seed, without being contractually restrictive to what might happen after.” The name Monocarpic comes from plants that flower once and then set seed. The label’s debut release is ‘You’ve Been Left Behind’, an M-Phazes produced single by new soul singer Jack Byrnes.

WINDFALL FOR SKYFALL SINGER

Norma Jean (USA)

Bilal (USA)

Opiuo + Spoonbill

Fri 3 May

Sat 4 May

Fri 10 May

Tue 30 Apr

HTC & Speaker TV Presents

Birds of Tokyo Thu 23 May

Cradle of Filth (UK)

Born Of Osiris (USA)

Sat 11 May

Sat 18 May

Moved from Roudnhouse

Municipal Waste (USA) Sun 16 Jun

Hardcore 2013 Feat. Youth of Today (USA) + More Sat 13 Jul 18+ Sun 14 Jul All Ages

Saint Vitus (USA) & Monarch! (FRA) Fri 19 Jul

ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, BUILDING 220, 122 LANG RD, MOORE PARK, SYDNEY

10 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

Adele is rolling in it: she’s the richest of all Brit musicians under 30, with a fortune of £30m (A$44.38m), topping the Sunday Times’ Rich List 2013 for a second year.

The 24-year old made £10m in the past year alone, earning £41,000 a day while 21 kept selling, while the Bond theme opened new doors. She doubled the £14m fortune of Cheryl Cole, the former waitress turned Girls Aloud singer who is a L’Oreal endorsee. The rest of the list are X-Factor winner Leona Lewis, 28 (£12m); Katie Melua, 28 (£12m); Florence Welch, 26 (£9m); Charlotte Church, 27 (£8m); Jessie J, 25 (£8m); Lily Allen, 28 (£6m); Nadine Coyle, 27 (£6m); Duffy, 28 (£6m); JLS (£24m combined); James Morrison, 28 (£6m); Nicola Roberts, 27 (£6m); One Direction (£25m combined); Emeli Sandé, 26 (£5m) and Ed Sheeran, 22 (£5m).

Lifelines Expecting: Backstreet Boys’ Kevin Richardson and wife Kristin Willits, their second.

The band’s Howie Dorough had a son in Feb, A.J. McLean a daughter last November.

Dating: Stan Walker and last year’s The Voice finalist Brittany Cairns made their two-month relationship official at Sydney’s Australian Hair Fashion awards.

They met at a friend’s 21st birthday bash.

Marrying: Deadmau5 and tattoo artist Kat Von D’s August 10 wedding will have an underwater theme, with performers dressed as mermaids and blue and green food and decorations. They’re both fans of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story The Call of Cthulhu, about a man who is part human and half octopus.

Sued: Shakira for US$95.8 million by her ex-boyfriend, who claims he masterminded her career including talking her into recording ‘Hips Don’t Lie’, a #1 in 24 countries in 2006.

Businessman Antonio de la Rúa is the son of the Argentinian president.

Sued: Garth Brooks for $425,000 by his ex-business partner of 20 years, TV producer Lisa Sanderson. She says she was promised 50% of the proceeds but he kept turning down blockbusters like Twister (because the tornado was the star and not him) and Saving Private Ryan (didn’t want to play second fiddle to Tom Hanks and Matt Damon), and lost a role in a TV sitcom because he wouldn’t share his publishing with the studio.

In Court: Scott Toukhsati, 36, who co-organised Victoria’s Rainbow Serpent Festival in January, was fined $1000 in Ballarat Magistrates Court. He was arrested on January 27 after police searched his car and caravan and found cannabis and GHB and $5,000 cash, suspected to be the proceeds of crime.

In Court: The Hives must pay 18.5 million kronor ($A2.8 million) to The Cardigans. Tambourine Studios in Malmo, Sweden, had routinely transferred the money from The Cardies to the less cashed-up Hives’ account. The Hives initially refused to pay it back, saying there were no loan agreements signed.

In Court: Lauryn Hill faces up to three years’ jail for not paying tax from 2005 through to 2007, during which time she earned more than $1.8 million.

She said during that time she’d become a recluse because she was hassled by a stalker and felt manipulated by the music industry.

In Court: Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav faces 12 years in prison for threatening the 17 year old son of his girlfriend with a butcher’s knife during a violent row.

Jailed: Gucci Mane for violation of probation and assault charges, after a fan claimed he smashed a champagne bottle on his head in an Atlanta club after he asked for a photo.

Died: US soul songwriter George Jackson, 68. He wrote hits for Bob Seger (‘Old Time Rock and Roll’), Jackson 5 (‘One Bad Apple’), Tina Turner, James Brown, Wilson Pickett and Clarence Carter.

Died: Chicago hotshot blues guitarist Jimmy “Fast Fingers” Dawkins, 76.

BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13 :: 11

Tool

M

aynard James Keenan is speaking from ‘The Bunker’, the studio at his Caduceus Cellars winery in Arizona, where he’s just finished pre-filtering and is about to start bottling.

Winemaking is Keenan’s passion – even more than making music. Such is his commitment to his vineyard, Tool tour and record only when a break in the wine season allows it.

“It’s more about being a slave to the sun and the rain. There’s a specific schedule that you’re on when it comes to harvest and processing, and making music can be scheduled around that because making music isn’t necessarily seasonal. It does flow with moods, that’s for sure. You can’t really force art. But with the wine, you’re definitely on a clock,” Keenan says.

The music world has changed dramatically since Tool’s last album, 2006’s 10,000 Days, with the focus shifting from selling records to selling shows – but this hasn’t changed the bands’ desire to create holistic album experiences.

12 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

a whole record, and that’s how I picture our fans.”

“It’s funny,” Keenan adds. “I grew up with vinyl and that was the medium, and of course there was the embarrassing thing called the eight-track too, but vinyl was the main medium. Even back then, I remember looking at the eight-track and thinking, ‘this is kind of awful’, because you don’t get all the fun images with it. With the album you could have the double gatefold with all this extra information and images that leant themselves to what was going on with these particular songs; you could find out who wrote what, who performed what, who mixed what. It was always a nice complete package, literally and figuratively, with vinyl. I feel that, these days, that is missing with the iTunes experience.”

For Keenan, recording albums and touring still go, “hand in hand, depending on the project. There are some people who make a living performing live, but there are definitely a lot of people that rely on their digital presence to pay the bills. I find a happy balance of that with [side-project] Puscifer.

My touring schedule is wrapped around my winery activities, or I just don’t tour at all.

I put out things digitally, and I still do vinyl with all the projects because I just like that medium.”

“You see some ageing rock star trying to do the powerslide...it’s embarrassing. Just don’t do the fucking powerslide!” of one of my best friends from high school.

We’re going through and putting in all the information then sifting through it, working around it like you would a song… If you read the Mötley Crüe biography, it’s what you would expect – craziness, hostility, drugs, breaking things, fun times. They’re not the biographies I end up getting into. I lean more toward storyoriented biographies. Not like a diary of sorts, those can be kind of boring, but I do find that the process is interesting in terms of legacy.

You don’t want it to be airing dirty laundry, because that is boring. You want it to find the positive aspects and influences, then highlight those.”

Tool’s fan-base is unlike any other – and they’re not afraid to dissect, analyse and criticise the band’s output. But Keenan isn’t bothered by differences in taste.

Between his winery, Tool, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle, Keenan has also found time to work on his autobiography.

“I guess some of the best chefs in the world have many layers to what they’re putting in front of you. There are definitely nuances to what you enjoy in that dish, many layers and experiences depending on your palate. That’s what I gravitate towards – that execution of art in general - whether it be a chef, winemaker, painter, filmmaker.”

“I’m working with a writer friend of mine, I’ve known her for decades - she’s the older sister

Keenan was in Australia recently for tours with A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, and he’ll be back

again soon with Tool – a busy schedule for a man who, by his own admission, isn’t getting any younger.

“I base [my touring schedule] on my back.

Whatever the back can take. Whatever set we’re constructing, whether it’s A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, or whatever it is I’m doing, you have to consider the age. We’ve been doing this for a while. That’s the danger with some of these projects, you see people out there, some ageing rock star trying to do the powerslide.

It’s embarrassing, just don’t do the fucking powerslide. Do something else. Present your strengths, not your weaknesses. We’ve already heard about your weaknesses.”

I suspect at this point that Keenan’s tongue is at least half planted in his cheek – but does he think he’s a funny guy?

“I wish I was. I wish I was funnier. And the act of wishing that makes you not funny. I think there are people that have a natural timing and natural ability to be funny. I tend to think of myself as more like the idiot radio announcer in Good Morning Vietnam who thinks he knows funny.”

Where: Allphones Arena, Sydney When: Friday May 3, Saturday May 4 Xxx

“It’s kind of tricky, the market definitely has shifted,” drummer Danny Carey says. “When we first got signed, we did live shows to sell the records. Now we do records to sell the live shows because there really isn’t that much money in record sales anymore.

We still have the old school approach of making albums. From the beginning, we never did singles, only albums. We’ve always been kind of archaic in our approach to the system, and I think people are hungry for that. People can still sit down and listen to

Gentlemen Rockers

By Lachlan Kanoniuk

for Live and Localsau!

Calling all artistsplay entertainment.com.

Contact: chris@fair

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Blackchords Back On The Local Road By Krissi Weiss

M

elbourne indie-dance band Blackchords are among the swarm of Australian musicians re-entering local life after a heady and hazy few weeks in North America for South by Southwest (SXSW) and Canadian Music Week (CMW).

But there’s been no time to rest for singer/ guitarist Nick Milwright and co. – they’re hitting the ground running with the release of their second album, A Thin Line, and a national tour.

While Milwright has done the odd solo tour in America, SXSW was the first time Blackchords had been able to tour and solidify their growing audience in the US. Their self-titled debut album spawned a host of features on US TV, including MTV’s Teen Mom, NBC’s Being Human, and Cops L.A.C, as well as appearances on local shows Offspring and Rescue Special Ops. Hopes can be high (and quickly dashed) when a band makes the trek over to SXSW, but things came together for Blackchords.

“I guess over the last 12 months we’ve been getting a lot more TV syncs and we knew we were building a bit of a fan base that way so with the new record coming out we wanted to get over to America and touch base with some of the fans we’ve made already,” Milwright says. “We also wanted to build on the TV sync stuff and try and get different licenses and get more TV placements going.

From that, we hoped that we’d get a booking agent in the States and be able to get over there more often than ever. Things are slowly coming together for all that.”

It can be hard to balance the business side of industry conferences like SXSW and CMW with the feeling that they’re a musician’s Spring Break, but Blackchords succeeded.

“We’ve been heads down and really focused on business things after recording the album and everything that goes hand in hand with that, so we hadn’t had a good, solid tour for a while,” he says. “We felt like we needed to reconnect with each other and get on the road again. It was great to be in another world and actually be a part of something so different to what we see and do in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. It’s nice to put yourself out of the norm and get inspired again. It was everything; we didn’t stop ourselves from having a good time, and maybe we should’ve, but we also got a whole lot of business done.”

A Thin Line was recorded in 2012 in a converted barn in the Yarra Valley.

Red Room’s Mark Stanley came in as co-producer, joined by the expertise of David Odlum (The Frames, Luka Bloom and Josh Ritter).

14 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

“It’s nice to put yourself out of the norm and get inspired again. It was everything; we didn’t stop ourselves from having a good time, and maybe we should’ve, but we also got a whole lot of business done.”

“Having a seasoned producer on board and having a band that have such a strong working relationship really helped us find our own sound and voice,” he explains.

“We had tossed up the idea of producing the record ourselves along the way but the reality is when you’re new to this you can’t just go in and capture what you imagine. You just don’t have the knowledge for that. We couldn’t figure out a lot of ways of getting certain sounds. Having David on board was like having an alchemist who could take all of these ideas that we’d verbalised and also all of these half ideas and he’d have an answer straight away. He was able to realise everything we were trying to verbalise and turn it into a solid, recorded moment.”

Record label contracts, licensing contracts and all other manner of music business deeds have prevented the album from being released until now, but Milwright feels like everything is finally in its right place.

“It’s been great to play the new songs live over the last few months – it’s brought a great life to them and to Blackchords,” he says. “We always thought we’d have it out a lot earlier but a lot of little things got in the way – more opportunities really. But now the band feels amazing and we really feel ready to head out into the country and tour it and get the response we’re hoping for. After that, we’ll get back into the writing and creating; we feel like this album is a reflection of where we were, and now we’re coming into a new era of Blackchords.”

What: Blackchords album launch Where: Brighton Up Bar When: Friday April 26 And: A Thin Line out now through Universal.

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Matt & Kim Rough & Ready By Krissi Weiss

occasion, singer and keyboardist Matt Johnson gets in first.

“Kim wants to know what time it is over there right now,” Johnson says. “Because I have a question, can you answer it? If someone’s born on January 29 in the States, does that mean I would celebrate my birthday on the 30th in Australia ‘cause that’s actually when I was born in Australia?”

While the answer to this question is debated for far too long, it becomes clear that Johnson (and Kim Schifino by proxy) are as sweet and off-beat as their music. Johnson jokes that they “should’ve killed each other a long time ago,” but that working, living and loving together is somehow perfect for them. “It would be so bizarre to leave even just for eight or nine hours of the day and have the experience of going to work separately,” he says.

Known for their DIY ethos, quirky music videos, and for being the indie world’s current

The most banal but necessary opening question in any interview is asking where an artist is and what time it is there. They’re international touring musicians, so they could be anywhere in the world. But on this

“As much as people tell me the idea of the album’s dead, it’s still really important for me to make something that you can listen from the first song to the last song and they

“I see that people have different views on the issue of free downloading and I understand that but sharing works for what we do,” he says. “The ‘Daylight’ song was released as a legal free download and yet still 800,000 or 900,000 people have bought the song anyway and that’s just wild.

“We also bank on people enjoying the energy of our shows more than anything. I mean, we play half the set standing on the drum kit or on our stools. I can miss notes and I don’t sing perfectly but somehow the whole energy of the show makes that not matter as much. I get really nervous when we do TV – like the late shows – that energy doesn’t translate as much through the screen and I think, ‘Aw man, I have to try and play perfectly’.”

Where: : Oxford Art Factory With: Jackie Onassis When: Wednesday May 1 And: Lightning is out now through Liberator.

OM Temple of Doom By Kate Hennessy

L

ast year’s Advaitic Songs crowned American band OM as kings of an as-yet undefined genre. Not metal, not devotional music, not doom, not world music – but with all those threads woven in – Advaitic Songs is serious in tone yet seriously fun to listen to.

As it should be, says drummer Emil Amos, who reacts to my comment about fun with something approaching a gush of relief. “It’s awesome to hear you say that. Maybe it’s age but at this point in my life it feels easier to push all the bullshit aside and produce music that’s literally just fun to listen to.

We All Want To Signs of the times By Jody Macgregor

I

have this image in my head of Tim Steward as a bit of a cranky, curmudgeonly guy.

Maybe not back in his Screamfeeder days, but certainly in his more recent acts, both The Whats – who have a gleefully misanthropic song called ‘Ants’ where Steward imitates other people’s boring conversations by singing “Blah blah blah, misery!” – and We All Want To. In the case of We All Want To it’s because they kicked off last year’s great album Come Up Invisible with a song where Steward rants about all the things he thinks you should stop doing, like “Stop writing letters to yourself, you’re never gonna read ’em” and “Stop caressing your phone!”

Predictably, in person he turns out to be totally pleasant even when being interviewed at 10 in the morning, happy to answer questions from someone who uses a phone to take photos at gigs. “I’m in the generation that grew up without it,” Steward says of the always-connected technology he’s suspicious of, “and suddenly it’s kicked in so I’ve sort of seen both halves and I can see the merits of all technology and whatever, but I can see how it’s very invasive and it takes up your life way too much.”

That’s depressingly reasonable of him. While Steward may actually be a nice guy, he does admit to one flaw: being controlling of the other band members. “We’ll be at band practice writing a song together or something like that and basically I’ll be telling people what to do,” he admits. “Sometimes a little too much. Sometimes I’ll say to our drummer Dan [McNaulty], ‘Can I show you the beat I’ve got in mind for this song, Dan? I’ll get on the drums and show you the beat.’ And he’s like a saint, he’s really patient with me, very into everyone putting in their two cents, so he 16 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

doesn’t mind. But yeah, sometimes I get a bit bossy and ‘It’s got to be like this!’”

On the subject of drummers, their recent video for ‘No Signs’ features plenty of them. The second track from Come Up Invisible, it’s now been given lead billing on a new EP rather than being released as a single. “We’ve had a few songs lying around from the album session and we had a few new ones and we’re just suckers for it,” Steward explains, “we’re suckers for working.” The video features a parade of musicians including members of Tape/Off, Grand Atlantic, The SkyPilot, Drawn From Bees and Edward Guglielmino as well as We All Want To themselves taking turns playing the drums. Skye Staniford, We All Want To’s other singer and also flautist, seems to particularly enjoy bashing away at an instrument that’s much less delicate than her flute.

No other instruments are shown in the clip, and you find yourself concentrating on the song’s beat with a singular focus, with the constantly changing stream of different players giving it variety. Obviously, some are better drummers than others. “It’s really amazing actually because at least half the people there had never played the drums before,” Steward says, “they just got on the kit and did it and it was incredible. They might not have been playing the beat correctly with their foot and the kickdrum but they were doing the tsh tsh tsh with their hands and it looked great.”

What: The No Signs EP is available now on Plus One Records.

Where: Goodgod Small Club When: Friday April 26

“I don’t mean mindless, I mean fun in that you want to hear it again and again. I think fun is a big part of why we all like music and why we all got into it.”

Advaitic Songs’ first track, ‘Addis’, is a sparsely augmented Hindi chant that sounds both ancient and immediate. It’s sung by a female guest (not by OM vocalist and bass player, Al Cisneros, also of stoner doom band Sleep) and demonstrates OM’s power to lead listeners down paths they might not otherwise tread – even if it’s the promise of some huge, growling riffs that gets them there.

There could be no better opening track than ‘Addis’, but Amos admits it was actually recorded for OM’s last record, God Is Good. “It didn’t fit in very well so we decided to lead off this record with it instead. So the beginnings were recorded with Steve Albini.”

After using Albini for God Is Good, OM turned to a San Francisco-based engineer, Jay Pellicci, for Advaitic Songs. “He’s mostly known for doing Deerhoof records. He’s extremely focused and has, I don’t know, a kind of a Zen vibe himself. He’s the real deal. He did basically the whole record, though Brandon Eggleston, who also works with The Mountain Goats and Swans, helped too.”

Those hoping OM might complement their eerily spiritual vibe with some similar-spirited props (guilty as charged) will be disappointed.

OM let the music do the work, says Amos.

“There’s really no light show or anything, though we do try to keep it moody and dark.

We kind of come from the punk movement in that sense. Like, when you used to see Fugazi play they’d turn up the house lights and play like they were in a gym.

“When a band has total power and total commitment to their own reality and atmosphere, they don’t need anything. We try to live up to that. We also don’t like not being able to breathe and smoke machines and all that shit.”

When it comes to lyrics, however, OM couldn’t be further from punk. Amos is hesitant to talk about them at all, given they’re written by Cisneros – “it would be really weird for me to try to interpret his lyrics” – but is happy to explain, if not the meaning, then at least Cisneros’ perspective on words such as ‘Traveller now reach the stream / The astral flight adapter / From the pain-sheath life ascends / The Non-returner sees’ (‘State Of Non Return’).

“A punk song is like, ‘I hate my boss, I hate my parents’. Everything about it is so direct.

The challenge Al faces is putting words to ideas that are not as simple or as temporal or pedestrian. It’s supposed to be from a place that’s more ineffable and to describe it would diminish the power and mystique of the place it’s trying to honour.”

With: Dead China Doll and Lyyar Where: Annandale Hotel When: Thursday 9 May And: Advaitic Songs out on Drag City

Matt & Kim photo by Jonathan Mannion

B

favourite couple, Matt & Kim place their focus on energy rather than virtuosity, preferring to put on a great live show than focus on precise musicianship.

rooklyn lo-fi/dance punk duo Matt & Kim have just wound up a tour of the US with Passion Pit, are still reeling from the success of their fourth album Lightning and are about to do the long haul flight across the Pacific for a string of headline shows (joining the Groovin’ The Moo line-up while they’re here).

Quoted as saying they started off not able to play their instruments at all, Matt & Kim are thriving in this transitional era of music making.

They embrace free downloading, they see song writing and performing as two entirely different beasts, and they care more about themselves and the audience having fun than anything else.

all make sense together,” he says. “People have been burnt so many times by a band bringing out one awesome song then a whole bunch of filler. I’m a huge fan of pop music but it is so guilty of that and we never want to do that. I think the new landscape will be people presenting music visually even more; we still have a few songs we want to do clips for.

Caveman New York’s Neanderthals By Jody Macgregor

C

aveman may seem like an unusual name for a band made of five hip New Yorkers who play harmonised, folksy indie rock and are more likely to go hunting for the best bagels in Brooklyn than try to bring down a woolly mammoth with stone-tipped spears. But have a listen to their second, self-titled album and suddenly the name seems pretty apt.

Caveman’s songs evoke and then fill empty spaces with reverb vocals, strummed guitar and synth tones that hum and then echo away; they sound like they’re recording in a cave. A very expensive, tricked-out recording cave somewhere in Manhattan, but a cave all the same.

Singer and guitarist Matthew Iwanusa says the recording process for Caveman was different to that of their debut, 2011’s CoCo Beware, largely thanks to a bigger budget. “We did it in a bigger space and we just spent a lot more time finding particular sounds,” he says. “We did a lot more live stuff. It was just like a lot of us getting in there and getting a great sound and seeing what we could do after that.”

Four-part harmonies are a big part of Caveman’s sound – the kind of harmonies you hear in bands of three siblings and a cousin who grew up in the same mountain village, singing in the same church choir. But this isn’t the case with Caveman; none of them are related – in fact, most of them don’t even go back that far.

time. We always talk about how funny it would be if adults would act the same way at shows, what that would be like.”

Caveman’s new album is coming out on Fat Possum, an unusual label that started out as a home for blues musicians but has now branched out into everything from hip hop rebels MellowHype to the new Iggy and the Stooges record. The label’s located in the rural town of Oxford, the polar opposite of Caveman’s New York.

It’s a town where, according to the label’s About page, it’s legal for boys to get married at 17 and girls at 15, and as of 2012 syphilis tests are no longer mandatory requirements for a marriage licence.

“They’re in Mississippi, in the south,” says Iwanusa as if that explains everything. “They’re not in any huge city or anything, they’re just doing their thing and they’re really great guys. I like them a lot.

They’ve been really fun. I have no complaints at this point! I enjoy them all as people.”

What: Caveman is out now through Fat Possum via Shock.

“The guitar player and I went to high school together so we have kind of been attached at the hip since then,” Iwanusa says. “That’s about it.

He doesn’t even sing.”

Instead, Caveman met as members of separate bands spread across New York’s rock scene – bands which coincidentally all broke up at around the same time. “

“Kids jump up on the stage and go crazy. They’re always shaking maracas – we give them maracas – which is really fun and they’re losing it the whole time.”

“We had all done fun side projects and stuff together,” Iwanusa says, “like we would play a show together with a few of us, and we’d be like, ‘Oh, that was so much fun.’ We all wanted to eventually play some more music together.”

One of the places they came together was a guitar shop called 30th Street Guitars, where four of the band’s five members worked at different times.

Nowadays they’ve got a new hangout spot, though – Cobra Guitars, where band member Jimmy ‘Cobra’ Carbonetti builds his own custom guitars.

“That’s the place to be,” Iwanusa says. “We’re there every day.”

Except for when they’re on tour, of course. When I talk to Iwanusa, he’s just finished soundchecking for the last show of their current tour, after almost two months on the road.

“The tour was great,” he says, “really, really fun. We got to go through the whole country, see everything, so I’ve had a good time but it’s gonna be nice to be back.” He says it’s been, “definitely the longest tour, but also the biggest in terms of how many people are coming to see us play throughout the whole country, which has been nice.”

Previously they’d done a lot of gigging in and around New York, but even after years there the city still has surprises. In January they were invited to play at Kidrockers shows - all ages events that encourage parents to bring their children - where they shared a bill with Har Mar Superstar.

Xxx photo by JXxx Xxxx

“It’s really fun,” Iwanusa says. “There’s tons of kids, they’re all losing their minds the whole time and you just show up and you’ve been out late the night before – it’s always really early – so it’s this interesting experience of, ‘Right, I’ve got to get it together to do this.’ We always have a great time and you meet the nicest people there. Kids say such funny stuff.”

They play a slightly quieter set in those morning shows for the families. “Nothing too heavy,” Iwanusa says, but that doesn’t mean the shows are any less raucous than those they play for adults. In fact, they’re the reverse.

“Kids jump up on the stage and go crazy. They’re always shaking maracas – we give them maracas – which is really fun and they’re losing it the whole BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13 :: 17

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five minutes WITH

THE MOTEL SISTERS

1969. We took five with the duo to find out what to expect.

How did your artistic collaboration, The Motel Sisters, come about and what are you trying to do as a duo? The Motel Sisters were born when we crashed the Sydney Biennale opening party as young upstart nobodies. We wondered what could be the most obnoxious thing to go as and decided pink-clad Price Attack-Paris Hilton spawn would stand out nicely. The rest is history!

Our aim is to be an ever-evolving creature(s), somewhere between South Park and Kath & Kim to process pop art and everyday culture through our Western Sydney, dark humoured, fantastical but cracked fluffy lens.

T

his week, MCA’s North Gallery is playing host to a week of madness. Workout is brining together seven artists and collaborative groups who will produce time and site-specific performance, and live installation to explore different approaches to physical activity.

Participating artists include David Capra, Domenico de Clario, Brian Fuata, Sarah Goffman, Agatha Gothe-Snape with Susan Gibb, The Motel Sisters (Liam Benson and Naomi Oliver) and Jodie Whalen.

Tickling our fancy in particular, however, are The Motel Sisters who are about to recreate Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s infamous Bed-In of

Liam Neeson in Taken 2

What inspires you artistically and what are the main themes you explore in your art? Our project was born in the gutters of Kingswood and Penrith, so our everyday suburban experience has been a big influence.

The main theme that drives the girls and their adventures is the symbiotic relationship between pop cultural celebrities and their adoring followers and how this affiliation manifests itself through subcultural behaviour.

Your latest work, My Little Kony, is part of MCA’s current Workout exhibition. Tell us about it. Paris and Tacky Motel recreate the famous Bed-In staged by Yoko Ono and John Lennon, but with a 2013 twist. Overweight, static and having junk food continually delivered to them in the space, The Motel Sisters write

letters of complaint to various organisations and politicians in the name of positive change. My Little Kony is ultimately about Slacktivism – the phenomenon of liking, retweeting, sharing of social causes on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr etc., and yet taking no other real life action.

What’s the relationship between Ono and Lennon’s 1969 Bed-In and your 2013 version? There will be a number of parallels between the 1969 and 2013 pieces. In both, there are two famous, important people in a protest situation, staying put in bed, surrounded by the media. However, The Motel Sisters bring in a few new and significant elements like the internet, social media, Dominos Pizza Tracker, obesity and Glen 20 Surface Spray.

How will audiences react to My Little Kony?

Any of the following responses are acceptable: laughter, fear, intrigue, revulsion, annoyance, mild bemusement, indifference and or jealousy.

Just post it.

You’re exhibiting at MCA’s ARTBAR. What can we expect here? Paris and Tacky will be sharing their mentors and motivators through a video installation titled That’s Fantastic! Come for the pep-up, stay for the slut drop.

What: The Motel Sisters in Workout and ARTBAR When: Tuesday April 23 & Friday April 26 Where: MCA More: mca.com.au

ALBERT TUCKER SLOW COFFEE

A coffee shop pop-up is about to land at 107 Projects. Brought to us by lovely lasses Angela Bennetts and Kate Britton, the pop up has secured an exclusive blend from Jack of Harts and Jude – apparently it’s going to taste like mellow, sweet, chocolatey goodness. Local artisan producers, Hand’s Lane spreads and Pepe Saya butter will also be represented. An opening party on Saturday May 11 will include giveaways, music, activities and more! Albert Tucker Slow Coffee will run from May 9-30. For more details see alberttuckerslowcoffee.com

TAKEN 2! WIN! When he and his ex-wife are taken hostage in Turkey, ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) promises “I’m going to do what I do best”, which obviously entails shooting at bad guys and running through the backstreets of picturesque foreign cities. But find us someone who wouldn’t want to be rescured from the clutched of foreign kidnappers by action man Neeson and we’ll find you a liar.

We’ve got six copies of the ‘Extended Harder Cut’ Blu-Ray/DVD combo of Taken 2 up for grabs – to make one your own, send us your deets (including postal address), along with a synopsis for the possible sequel-tothe-sequel Taken 3. Bonus points for best tagline.

SAVE THE RAT

Come on guys, we need you to give The Red Rattler some lovin’! The much-adored Marrickville arts space needs to raise $40K in less than 45 days to stay open. Founded in 2009 by the Rat 5, a collective of five queer inner west artists and activists, the venue really has pioneered Sydney arts, performance and grassroots activism over the past five years.

And it’s really thanks to the Rat 5 we’ve seen a poppin’ lineup of acts such as Chicks on Speed, JD Sampson and Katie Noonan. So what’s the deal exactly? These guys need a whole lot of dosh, so let’s get behind ’em folks. Donations can be made via pozible.com/savetherat

ARTBAR

Pat & Carlo's Incredibly Useful Adventures In Time

REEL ANIME

GOLDEN GOOSE

On Friday April 26, Pat Magee and Carlo Ritchie will wing a 60-minute improvised educational radio play. The first ever winners of Impro Australia’s Golden Goose award, the comedic duo join forces with a crew of other young comics – Pat Byrnes, Will Erimya, Jack Scott, Tom Walker, Kathyrn Warton with Chris Dendle on keyboard – to take us on Pat And Carlo’s Incredibly Useful Adventures In Time. These guys are firing up the old time machine to take us on a madcap thrill-making journey through history. We’re not really sure what to expect, but we’re hella keen to find out. seymourcentre.com for more.

PHOENIX EMPIRE

Self-taught graphic artist Phoenix Empire’s tattoo-inspired illustrations examine connections between horror, gore and beauty. Ten hand drawn illustrations and two aerosol canvases will be on display in his

latest exhibition The Darkness in Beauty at Blacklisted from April 30. Empire’s artistic style has developed from a fascination with tattoo culture, Japanese anime, nature and female innocence – we’re excited to see what the ink master can deliver.

Johnathan McBurnie, Welcome To The Future, 2013

Reel Anime has announced it will be returning to Australia and New Zealand later in the year to launch the third film in the Evangelion rebuild series, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.

The festival will also screen a bunch of other top-notch Japanese animations, but they’re not telling us which ones just yet. It’s really a case of all you manga heads being at the ready because Reel Anime’s full schedule will be released at the Australian Pop Culture Expo on June 21. Check reelanime.com for forthcoming details.

MCA’s popular ARTBAR is back this Friday with a Workout edition. Run off the back of the gallery’s highly interactive week-long exhibition, Workout, the April ARTBAR is going to be encouraging us to flex our minds to enjoy a night of conceptual physicality. It’s all about engaging the body and everyday materials to explore relationships with physical activity and its connection to contemporary art practice. Who knows what’ll happen. Friday April 26. For more details see mca.com.au

BEHIND THE POP-UP

We all love a good pop-up, don’t we? But do we really know how they work and why they’re such a phenomenon? The Sydney Arts Management Advisory Group are running a seminar looking at how pop-ups have become an established part of art practice. Join fellow pop-up enthusiasts at The Australia Council for The Arts on Monday April 29 to hear speakers Merryn Spence, Chrissie Lanssen and gallerist Barry Keldoulis talk about the artist and the community, and the complex issues around selling art. For more details see samag.org

SPECIAL MOVES INTO MOP

The work of Julie Fragar, Christian Flynn, Leah Emery, Miles Hall, Arryn Snowball and Jonathan McBurnie is currently on display in MOP Project’s latest exhibition, Special Moves. The exhibition, curated

by Johnathan McBurnie, looks at the role of drawing in the context of the digital zeitgeist. With drawing, painting, cross-stitch, printmaking and video on offer, Special Moves’ thematic basis lies in an acknowledgement of how integral tactility is to contemporary art.

And let it be known that McBurnie’s a jack-of-all-trades – he’s also currently working on a graphic novel, an opera and a screenplay. Watch this space.

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18 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

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Paul Foot [COMEDY] All Things Considered By Alasdair Duncan

P

aul Foot is a man prone to overthinking things. As our interview commences, I ask the UK comedian how he’s enjoying his trip to Australia so far. Most would treat a question like this as idle chatter, but he considers his answer for a good long while. “I’m about fi ve-eighths of the way through my trip, or maybe sevenelevenths, and it’s going very nicely thank you,” he says.

an entity unto itself. Closely cropped at the front, wild and free at the back, it’s become his signature look. “My hairdresser created it about ten years ago, and modelled it on my personality,” he says. “Some people think it’s a mullet, but according to my hairdresser, it’s not, because a mullet has to do with the weight on the sides versus the back, or something technical like that. He calls it a 'Paul Foot'.”

“I should like to stay on a bit longer,” he continues, “but when I fi nish my tour of Australia, I have very exciting things to do in the United Kingdom, and then shortly after that, I have very exciting things to do in other parts of the world. Touring is the best fun ever, although we must remember that one day, I won’t be able to go to Australia or anywhere ever again, because I’ll be dead.”

The look hasn’t yet caught on among the human population, although Foot tells me that he has seen many goats sporting it. “I’ve worked with goats a number of times in my career,” he says. “Once, I took a goat around a farm while presenting to camera. She was very nervous and would shy away from the camera, but after a while, she realised you were actually meant to look into it. From then on, she’d look right into it whenever she ate a piece of grass, like she was showing off.

They’re very intelligent animals, goats,” he says. “I’ve got a great affinity with them.”

While Foot is something of an eccentric, he is quick to insist that all comedians fall into that category in some way or another. “A lot of comedians are socially awkward and a little bit peculiar,” he says. “Most of us have some sort of social idiosyncrasy – that’s probably what makes us comedians. The ability to get on stage and make people laugh doesn’t necessarily equate to you being the life of the party.”

“I think that, as comedians, we have a common bond,” he continues. “We all do the same job, so we respect each other, because we know what it’s like, and we know of the fears and dangers involved. Some people imagine that comedians are all very depressed backstage, and some think that comedians are hilarious and tell each other jokes all the time – I think that, just as in real life, the truth is somewhere in between.

We’re just quite normal really, yet we’re not normal at all.”

Foot will be coming to Sydney later this month with his new show, Kenny Larch Is Dead. If you’re wondering who that is, though, you may be left in the lurch, as the title of the show bears no relation at all to the content contained within. The show itself pushes Foot’s freewheeling style even further than normal – without giving too much away, he tells me that he has lately been interested in pushing the outer limits of the absurd, and that we can expect the kind of ‘utter madness’ that resists any kind of interpretation or analysis.

On the subject of things that resist interpretation and analysis, Foot’s hair is

New Residents for Belvoir [THEATRE] The Anne-Louise Sarks Story By Simon Binns

I

t’s fair to say that Belvoir has experienced near unmitigated success since Ralph Myers took over as artistic director from Neil Armfield at the start of 2011. First there was the name change (from Company B Belvoir to the elegantly simple Belvoir), then the foyer was repainted. Next? The awards started rolling in and the accomplishments haven’t really stopped, but we all know it was more than just a rename and a swanky new foyer that brought Belvoir its sterling success.

Everything seemed to be running smoothly until the recent and surprising resignation of the theatre’s resident director, Simon Stone.

The director’s reworkings of classics have been central to the new Belvoir era, but it seems the pull of opportunities at home and abroad was too strong and made the continuing of a full-time position untenable.

As the first major change to the new Belvoir team, the theatre community waited with baited breath to see who would replace Stone and the company succeeded again in surprising everybody by announcing not one, but two replacements. Adena Jacobs and Anne-Louise Sarks, both stars of the Melbourne independent scene, have joined Belvoir as new resident directors.

For Sarks, it’s actually a dream come true. “I grew up in Sydney and really loved theatre. My parents used to take me to musicals a lot,” she says, “and there was this moment when I went to see a Belvoir show and starting coming to Belvoir a lot more and it totally changed what I thought was possible... it’s so crazy to end up here now – to be inside a building that informed the things I care about.”

What: Paul Foot’s Kenny Larch Is Dead Where: The Comedy Store When: Thursday April 25 & Saturday April 27

After school it was straight to the Sydney University Dramatic Society. “It’s so nerdy, but I was the president and I spent all of my time at uni extending my arts degree so I could stay and make more theatre,” says Sarks. Training at the Victorian College of the Arts followed, but after graduating as an actor, Sarks realised this wasn’t necessarily what she wanted to do. “I’m more comfortable as a director,” she says, “I imagine I’m also a bit of a pain in the arse as an actor because I always want to talk about the bigger picture.” Through connecting with Simon Stone’s Melbourne company, The Hayloft Project, she started to utilise opportunities in the field, which led her to eventually taking over as artistic director.

In 2011, Sarks was brought back to Sydney where she worked as an artistic

Anne-Louise Sarks associate for Belvoir, including an assistant directorship on Stone’s runaway theatrical success, The Wild Duck. But it was Sarks’ bold new vision of catapulting two children centrestage in the intimate setting of the downstairs theatre for Medea that signalled her true homecoming. Medea went on to garner five Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Director. This is when the Belvoir team really took notice.

As a member of Hayloft and on the back of Medea, you might think it’s Belvoir’s penchant for classics that won Sarks over, but it’s actually the other half of the theatre’s mission that she’s most anticipating. “One of the reasons I’m most excited to be here is that Belvoir is one of two companies at the forefront of developing new Australian writing,” she says.

It might also have something to do with the chance to be a part of a family of directors – a relatively unique opportunity in the theatre world. “You spend a lot of time as a freelancer alone, trying to come up with ideas,” says Sarks, “yet one of the reasons you make theatre is to get into a room with other people where something extraordinary could happen.”

Forget Me Not [THEATRE] More Than History By Dee Jefferson

T

asmanian-born playwright Tom Holloway is having a banner year: last month he premiered a play at Tasmania’s Ten Days On The Island festival – directed by and starring former mentors Julian Meyrick and Robert Jarman, respectively; this month he opens two plays on the same night in Sydney and Melbourne; then he spends six weeks in residence at London’s National Theatre.

Most interestingly, perhaps, is that in a golden-age of Anglo-European theatre resting on the shoulders of broad comedies like the National Theatre’s One Man, Two Guvnors and feelgood dramas like The History Boys, Holloway has built his unusually prolific career with works that almost exclusively deal with heavy, real-life subject matter – from the Port Arthur massacre (in Beyond The Neck) to the Victorian bushfires (in Love Me Tender) and death and euthanasia (in And No More Shall We Part, which showed as part of Griffin’s 2011 season). This is a writer working on the frontline of humanity, looking at how it copes under extreme duress.

20 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

“The Child Migrants Trust is still working to put former child migrants back together with their families,” he explains, “and in fact they’re really starting to run out of time: the kids are now in their ’60s or ’70s, so their parents – if they’re still alive – are really old. So the Trust is having to work really hard now to do what they can for these people, before it’s too late.

So my play is about how this is really a very live issue – it’s not just history.”

In his research for the play, Holloway spoke with some of the ‘survivors’. He talks about a Sydney resident in his late seventies called John, who speaks with a stutter because of the beatings he received at the hands of the Christian Brotherhood, but in his adult life sat on the Campbelltown Council and was bestowed an Order of Australia medal. “He’s an incredibly charming, very funny, warm man. And yet the first 20 years of his life are like nothing any of us can imagine. For example, he didn’t get his first birthday card until he was 62. It’s kind of a small thing – but it’s also actually a massive thing.”

argument for his chosen medium: “The thing I like about theatre is the experience of it; and when you’re taking on a subject like this, then there might well be people in the audience who have read Empty Cradles or seen [the film adaptation] Oranges and Sunshine, or read some of the articles about this subject – but they haven’t spent time with someone for whom this is their life.

In the face of the pre-existing – and popular – accounts of the child migrant scheme in print and film, Holloway makes a compelling

“Obviously theatre is all pretend,” laughs the playwright, “but what it can do is create the sense of spending time with a character –

Playwright Tom Holloway with director Anthea Williams really getting to know characters in that way that’s not about facts and figures and things, but looking at how they sit when they’re silent, or how a character responds when being talked to; that sense of understanding something, which isn’t so much about words and cognitive understanding. It’s just empathy, really.”

What: Forget Me Not by Tom Holloway When: Until Sunday May 19 Where: Belvoir St Theatre

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Holloway’s upcoming production for Belvoir mines the experience of the child migrants who were shipped from Liverpool to rural Australia in the 1950s. The topic has previously been explored in non-fiction via Margaret Humphreys’ Empty Cradles, and narrative via the 2010 Australian-UK co-production Oranges And Sunshine and the mini-series The Leaving Of Liverpool.

Whereas these are historical accounts – of the scheme and of Humphreys’ discovery of the horrors that occurred at the religious institutions to which the children were shipped – Holloway’s play tackles the current situation.

Film & Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town

■ Film

environment, he retires to its innate beauty and ability to guide self realisation.

In cinemas now

Although Thor’s symbiotic relationship with his surrounds remains pivotal to the film’s narrative, relationships with his genetically privileged, blue eyed, blond hair-sporting crew, sustain no less importance throughout the entirety of Kon-Tiki. Rønning and Sandberg utilise these relationships to challenge Thor’s relentless pursuit of proving his theory right by introducing a poignant conflict of interest between the film’s characters. Tensions arise when Thor and accomplice, former fridge salesman Herman Watzinger (Anders Baasmo Christiansen), have violently opposing views on whether or not the raft is beginning to rot.

KON-TIKI In 1947, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl drifted nearly 5,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean on a balsa wood raft with a crew of fellow adventurers. Why? To prove his theory that ancient South American settlers had journeyed to Polynesia from thousands of miles to the east. Thor's story is one of human triumph set within a context of tensions between historical science, faith and adult relationships. His story rejoices in the temporal freedom a nomadic life on the sea affords the self to find ephemeral connections between man and nature, civilisations past and present.

His story is also the centerpiece of filmmakers Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s latest film, Kon-Tiki.

A cinematographic success, Kon-Tiki capitalises on geographically striking images to capture and personify the enormity of Thor’s (Pål Sverre Hagen) challenge. Whether it be a birdseye shot of an unnervingly calm Pacific, a hyperbolic storm scene or a sweeping underwater sequence featuring a gigantic whale shark, Rønning and Sandberg ensure viewers are aware of one thing: no matter the intensity of man’s willpower, the wild will not be defeated. But this isn’t Thor’s central quest; instead of trying to dominate his natural

Arts Snap

At the heart of the arts Where you went last week... Photos by Tim Levy

It’s conflicts like these that remind viewers of the dangers in unrelenting idealism – idealism that can lead to the disintegration of the family unit and classical notions of love. Thor’s willingness to abandon his wife and children to chase the evidence he needs obliterates any filmic treatment of the ‘love conquers all’ trope.

Kon-Tiki really is, in essence, a film about man’s connection to the natural world. It is an accomplished and visceral film that comes recommended.

10x8 gallery launch

10:04:13 :: 10x8 Gallery :: L5 56-60 Foster St Surry Hills

Lisa Omagari Kon-Tiki

■ Theatre

DANCE BETTER AT PARTIES Until May 11 Director Gideon Obarzanek has made his debut in text-based theatre at Sydney Theatre Company with this lovely tale of intimacy amongst strangers. Obarzanek is founder and ex-artistic director of sleek dance company Chunky Move.

Based on interviews with a middle-aged man and his dance tutor, Dance Better At Parties follows the development of a relationship between middle-aged David (Steve Rodgers) and early-20s Rachel (Elizabeth Nabben). After a long retreat from public view due to a personal tragedy, David is trying to get back in the (dating) game and thinks some new dance moves will help him with the ladies. After showing up for a complimentary lesson with a group class, which turns out to be a highly technical one-on-one with Rachel, David is won over by her salesmanship. He can’t help but stay in the room as he gradually learns how to samba, cha-cha and paso doble his way to a newfound confidence.

It all sounds rather pedestrian, and it is. We spend much of the play watching actual dance lessons, although within the conceit that what takes three minutes in stage time takes an hour in real life. Driving this production, however, are the two incredible performances from Rodgers and Nabben.

We watch as they get to know each other and are left to make our own decisions about where their relationship is going. It’s likely that you’ll fall in love with one or both of them as they reveal more of themselves with each lesson.

Steve Rodgers in Dance Better At Parties

13 rooms

11:04:13 :: Kaldor Public Art Project :: Pier 2/3 Hickson Rd Walsh Bay

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

Late Sculpture April 18 – May 11/ Wed – Sat 11am-6pm, The Commercial, 148 Abercrombie Street, Redfern Whenever you think the whole thing’s about to lurch into cliché, the skill of the actors keeps it steady. Rodgers shows why he keeps appearing on our stages with his charming and nuanced performance, while Nabben proves she’s here to stay pitching Rachel perfectly between dance teacher façade and genuine feeling. While the ending is somewhat unsatisfying, it’s hard to imagine where it could have gone other than continuing. Dance Better At Parties is an accomplished, heart-warming and complex show.

Simon Binns

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Conceptual sculptress Agatha GotheSnape’s latest exhibition Late Sculpture is currently on display at The Commercial.

Comprising a single 2.4 metre high minimal white steel sculpture, the artist’s new work conditions minimalism as a way to explore networks of artists and influence.

Gothe-Snape’s work will also appear at the MCA for one day on Friday April 26 as part of the gallery’s Workout exhibition and will also later be displayed at MCA ARTBAR. Gothe-Snape works across many mediums; her practice has been likened to improvisational performance wherein she creates sculptures, pedestrian performances, PowerPoint slideshows, workshops, diagrams and visual scores to explore relationships between people, art and art contexts.

Agatha Gothe-Snape, Living Sculpture, 2013 BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13 :: 21

bread&thread Food & Fashion News

MARY’S OPENS

WHERE TO 2UP

This Thursday April 25 we’ll be remembering the bravery of all military troops who landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula. We’ll also be downing a few coldies in their honour. So where to drink and 2UP this Anzac Day? Get down to The Forresters for a ‘Gunfire Brekkie’ from 10am, a ‘Kokoda Pizza’ later on and hang around for all day 2UP. The Australian and The Glenmore should be the pick for the serious 2UPers among us – both will have 2UP arenas! For something a little more refined, try The Argyle for 2UP, a BBQ, live bands and DJs. Alternatively The Morrison Bar & Oyster Room’s set to go off with a 2UP ring and roaring sausage sizzle. Plan ahead folks because these places will pack out, and fast.

SWIMMERS UNDER SAILORS

Coastal France meets St Bart’s at Sydney’s latest waterfront eatery The Swimmers Club (594 New South Head Rd).

The venue’s in its first week of operation as a café, serving breakfast and lunch daily.

Located underneath the swanky Sailors Club, punters should expect an al fresco dining experience with palm trees and

pineapple plants aplenty. Who’s banging about the pans out back? Well that’s a certain Nic Waring who will be pumping out dishes like Crêpes Suzette with vanilla mascarpone and Campari, and charred brioche with ricotta, organic honeycomb and bacon. And lunch? Think staple flavours like confit tuna and onion, pork shoulder, and chicken and avo that can be ordered in sandwich or salad form. Win.

Bondi’s iconic hangout for beautiful people, Icebergs (1 Notts Avenue), is going organic with a teeny tiny 20-seater pop-up terrace café. The man behind the pop-up, Sydney restaurateur Maurice Terzini, has lined up organic food, cold pressure juices and coffee for all the Bondi scensters in need of replenishment.

Sharing the same view as Icebergs, you’ll be able to enjoy the luxurious panorama sans a hefty price tag. Opening hours are Wednesday – Sunday 7.30am-2pm for the next two weeks. Be there.

Crop front suit jacket orange RRP $245, Bustle Boudle shorts mint RRP $215

MARLY’S GARDEN BAR

Newtown’s grunge dive classic, The Marlborough Hotel, is set to relaunch with a new garden bar opening on Wednesday April 24.

Apparently the new courtyard offering’s going to be the best outdoor hangout on the King Street strip vibing on the whole green/organic/ NYC industrial thing. Marly’s also launching a new menu to match the revamped surrounds. Head chef Ernie Priestley joins the Marly crew, having previously worked at pub-bistro kings Abercrombie and Norfolk as well as a string of Merivale and Keystone venues. He’ll be winning us over with Aussie staples like fish fingers, prawn cocktails, lamingtons and chip sangas.

Yeah that’s right, we just said chip sangas! 145 King Street, Newtown.

A BOOZY BRUNCH

Come on let’s do it, let’s get our Sunday morning booze on. One of our fave little laneway bars, Foley Lane has just launched NYC-style boozy brunches that run from 10am-2.30pm every Saturday and Sunday. The focus is on five brunch cocktails: two types of bloody mary, a seasonal mimosa and margarita plus the all important morning martini. Food-wise you’ve got three groups to choose from: ‘healthy’, ‘hungover’ and ‘in between’. And the joint’s tapasinspired flair won’t be going astray either – brunch can be ordered individually or to share. 371-373 Bourke Street, Darlinghurst.

PHOTOS: ASHLEY MAR

Sydney-based label LUCiD has launched its Spring/ Summer 2013-2014 Candy Manifest collection by designer Joyce Li. Candy Manifest has been designed for the modern and edgy city-dwelling woman, with a unique combination of textured fabrics and fine silks. Using bold colour blocking techniques of the ‘60s, Li contrasts bursts of colour against nude bases in her modular designs.

Available from Gaffa Arcade, Arcade 3, 281 Clarence Street, Sydney.

ICEBERGS’ ORGANIC POPUP

Garden Bar

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LUCID SS13/14

The newest kid on Newtown’s small bar block has arrived.

Mary’s – housed in a building with a colourful past as a pool club, a Greek club and an STD clinic – is on our ‘to do’ list and it should be on yours too.

Run by a hospo dream team comprising Jake Smyth of Bodega and Kenny Graham of Porteño, Mary’s is set to deliver the goods. And the allimportant tipples on offer? Think local brewery Young Henry’s alongside a considered wine and cocktail list. Oh and rumour has it Mary’s does a mean burger.

Get your skates on kids because it sounds like you should be hella keen to check this place out. 6 Mary Street, Newtown.

MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK CARRIAGE WORKS :: 245 WILSON ST EVELEIGH

BULLETIN PLACE 10-14 BULLETIN PLACE, CIRCULAR QUAY MONDAY – FRIDAY 4PM TO 12AM/ SATURDAY 5PM TO 12AM

bar profile The team: Bulletin Place is owned by cocktail god Tim Philips, hospo expert Adi Ruiz and bar manager extraordinaire Robb Sloan. Tim is currently bartender of the year and has crammed more into his ten years of bartending than most accomplish in a lifetime. Adi has 17 years industry experience as a pastry chef and was part of Bar Team of the Year at Black Pearl in 2010. Sloan is equally impressive with a background in hospitality spanning 15 years across both the UK and Australia.

Eye-candy: With most of its handiwork done by the guys themselves, Bulletin engulfs punters in an inner-city loft that, unlike the area’s tourist-dominated pubs, makes you feel at home. Exposed brick, vintage-style bric-a-brac furniture and quirky mural art all come together under a haze of dim lighting.

The basics: Bulletin Place is an inner-city boozehound hot spot unassumingly tucked away down an alley and up a flight of stairs. The place is a prodigious example of in-the-know barmen doing what they do best and draws an eclectic crowd of CBD suits and hipsters.

Care for a drink? “The cocktail creation process at Bulletin Place isn’t anything new, fancy or cutting edge. In fact, we prescribe to the exact formula followed by our pioneering American forefathers who blazed the way for all drink-compounding aspirants. In essence, downtown cocktail mixers in the US during the nineteenth century could use only what was available locally with which to mix drinks. This is

an idea that we not only agree with, but embrace wholeheartedly. Sure, it’s not new, but it’s bloody delicious.”

Nibbles: Limited snacks are provided by Tapa Vino next door and range from terrine to hummus and flatbread.

Make us drool: “It’s like Christmas everyday when we arrive at the bar to unpack the day’s new fruit. It’s all smelt and squeezed and tasted with glee as we ponder how to process it. At this moment we know how good the evening’s menu will be. Ripeness and quality is everything with simple drinks. By the end of prep, the place smells like a psychedelic fruit salad, and all the fruit neatly packed into the bar looks poppin’. Seriously sexy.

“The drinks philosophy of following strictly seasonal and daily produce, coupled with the city’s most thorough ice program is far from efficient, but we don’t care. Our one driving passion is flavour and being able to put drinks in front of people that are the ultimate vehicles for the hard work of the NSW farming workforce. This gives us no greater pleasure. It’s deliciousness or death!”

Website: bulletinplace.com Xxxx

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BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13 :: 23

Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...

ALBUM OF THE WEEK XXX THEE OH SEES Cosmogramma Floating Coffin Warp Castle Face x

Xxxx It’s been just six months after their last record, and Dwyer and co. have served up another bizarrely compelling slab.

San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees are full of surprises.

They’ve released six studio albums in the last five years capped off by last September’s largely solo John Dwyer effort, Putrifiers II. Dwyer’s got the band back together to shake it up again this time. Opener ‘I Come From The Mountain’ packs guitars that rip through a slashing ‘n’ sliding Fun House era Stooges chorus, which rests in Mike Shoun and Lars Finberg’s pounding cacophony of double drums.

The collaborative writing and recording on Floating Coffin might just make this the band’s finest work.

Dammit’s measured roll emerges again on ‘No Spell’, quietly pushing Dwyer’s sweet falsetto to freak out. When the guitar gets crazy in the middle of the song it is sweet relief. Things fade out softly and slowly over the next minute and a half as the Californians eschew their previous inclination to stamp everything with madness and noise.

Early release ‘Toe Cutter – Thumb Buster’ is a shitty jam that just keeps on giving. It really should

The one word chorus of ‘Tunnel Time’ means the band can vigorously hump their influences into a

CHK CHK CHK

YEAH YEAH YEAHS

Thr!!!er Warp

Californian indie disco via post punk outfit Chk Chk Chk have been relatively quiet since 2010’s ‘Strange Weather, Isn’t It?’, but it seems the break between records has done the unpronounceable six-piece a world of good.

Lauded by the band themselves as their own ‘Thriller’ (a Michael Jackson reference in case you had any doubt), the band have certainly set the bar high here and it helps that there are plenty of big hitting, bombastic tracks that somewhat justify all the selfdrummed hype.

The album's producer, Spoon drummer Jim Eno, has reigned in the scattered, spasmodic energy that ricocheted across previous offerings to a much tighter focus with Thr!!!er.

Lead single ‘Slyd’ was crafted with the dancefloor in mind; repetitive, peppy female vocals crop up in a delicious mash of funk/ house rhythms and one of the chunkiest basslines you’ll have the pleasure of grooving to in 2013.

Elsewhere, there’s plenty more of the hybrid indie-funk pop-fusion the band has come to hone so well. Opening track ‘Even When The Water’s Cold’ nails their oddly addictive fusion perfectly, while ‘Station (Meet Me At The)’ is all funky guitar pop just waiting to get stuck in your head and drive everyone around you crazy.

There’s something about Thr!!!er that passes by too quickly; it will draw you in and spit you out before you realise the record is over. At only nine tracks, it leaves you lusting for one more sneaky track. There’s plenty to thrill you on this record, but whether it belongs in the same sphere as the canonised masterpiece it references remains to be seen.

Marissa Demetriou

fall down after 30 seconds, but Dwyer and Brigid Dawson’s vocals sickly sell the neatly plodding verses. Then the caterwauling commences anew as Petey Dammit’s bass wanders around the room a few times before returning to end the track with a sly, stoned wink.

In 2009 on It’s Blitz!, NYC’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs hit listeners with a shocking revelation. They’d made a dance/pop record. It was still a dark-themed and trash-tinged recording with Karen O’s confident, nasal warbling out front, so it was still a YYY album. But the abrupt change couldn’t have been predicted.

On their fourth album Mosquito, Yeah Yeah Yeahs have stepped further away from their original sound again in a myriad of directions. First single ‘Sacrilege’ starts out dreamy and dancey, but pricks ears around the two minute mark as it introduces backing vocals from a choir to wind up giving goosebumps as a full sanctimonious gospel number. ‘Subway’ updates the Johnny Cash tradition of using the rhythm section to imitate a chugging train, as the ballad uses the shift of carriages on subway tracks for percussion. Perhaps the biggest stylistic jolt happens on ‘Buried Alive’ when rapper Kool Keith’s unbalanced alter ego Dr. Octagon steps in to share vocals and save an otherwise potential filler track.

Of course there are songs that could have come from any of the prior records – ‘Despair’ is a highlight – and these serve to remind both how familiar we are with the band’s work and how far they’ve come. Nick Zinner retains ample shredding skills, most notably on the alien themed, Stooges-like ‘Area 52’, but keyboards have become his primary tool. Brian Chase delivers perhaps his most impressive range of drumming techniques yet, from tribal beats at the start of ‘Mosquito’ to an effective slow-building patter in closing new wave ballad ‘Wedding Song’.

Above all it’s Karen O’s voice that’s the anchor that ties everything together, both as a chaotic album and as a consistent group, albeit one in a phase of looking for the next way to surprise.

Simon Topper

Barack Obama is right: Dwayne Carter does indeed have a good flow, and in the mid naughties could confidently claim to be the best rapper around. But the man who lacks imagination when it comes to album titles – we’ve had Tha Carter I to IV and now two entitled I Am Not A Human Being – is now also completely devoid of originality when it comes to lyrics. His recent hospitalisation, regardless of whether it was for epilepsy or one too many servings of sizzurp, suggests Wayne’s mind hasn’t been on the music of late. This dirge proves it beyond doubt. Wayne sounds bored; listeners will be too.

Wayne used to tell us how good he is in the sack and how much money he has with humour and an inimitable swagger. On his tenth studio album and fourth in a little over three years, Wayne is sticking to the same subjects but doesn’t know how else to get his point across. Instead, he delivers nothing lines like: “Life ain’t shit but bitches and money” on ‘Trigger Finger’ and “Your bitch ride me like a go-kart / I play that pussy like Mozart” on ‘Curtains’.

The most intriguing moments on IANAHB 2 are when Wayne sounds like he’s riddled with self-doubt when he repeats “I swear to God I ain’t nervous” (on ‘Curtains’) and “I ain’t got no worries” (on ‘No Worries’) over and over. He’s clearly not in a good place right now.

Rkives Little Record Company

How you approach this record depends on your relationship to Rilo Kiley, and whether their indefinite hiatus was barely a blip on your musical radar or a massive tragedy. One of the most promising young bands signed to Saddle Creek (Bright Eyes, Iron & Wine) in the new millennium, Rilo Kiley’s bare-faced, self-deprecating yet highly likeable brand of indie rock won them many fans, this reviewer included. But after the major label flameout that was

24 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

Birthmarks Paper Bag Records

Philadelphia’s Diplo has made a career of taking dance music from all corners of the globe – be it carioca funk or bhangra – and repackaging it for kids who are more used to a diet of commercial hip hop and house. Four years ago he teamed with fellow don of the dance Switch to create a fictitious one-armed zombie killer called Major Lazer who would front the pair’s take on Jamaican dancehall. The resulting album, Guns Don’t Kill People...

Lazers Do, was as exhilarating as it sounds.

Artists that would have been labelled strictly ‘indie’ five to ten years ago are increasingly embracing R&B and commercial boy band styles with decreasing amounts of irony. Born Ruffians’ frontman Luke Lalonde is one of these. Between Birthmarks and Born Ruffians’ last, he released his solo debut Rhythymnals, which does a nice job blending typically indie or folk elements with electronic beats, pop hooks and falsetto flourishes as he sings about being somebody’s boyfriend.

Switch has since left Diplo to deliver the follow-up alone, with mixed results. Where the first LP got the balance right, Free The Universe strays too far from the blueprint.

Almost every promising ragga rhythm soon gets lost to dubstep’s womp womp, Dutch techno fills and ‘Harlem Shake’ squeaks and squelches. The collaboration with Flux Pavilion, ‘Jah No Partial’ best illustrates how the sights of the Lazer have been readjusted to aim for the mainstream EDM (eurggh!) market: 30 seconds in the intro of Johnny Osborne’s classic ‘Mr Marshall’ descends into a barrage of sub-Pendulum sub-bass.

Lalonde’s new direction has rubbed off on Born Ruffians; at times on Birthmarks they’re barely recognisable as the unpredictable indie band that burst with a yelp and a bagful of quirky guitar arrangements out of Toronto in the late ’00s. The enchanting choral opening bars of ‘Needle’ sound like a Fleet Foxes sample before the track launches into staccato territory, more like Animal Collective at their most pop-friendly. The combination of pretty harmonies, jaunty beats and individualistic lyrics is infectious and the single is one of the few on Birthmarks that really nails the brief. A fling with doo wop on ‘Cold Pop’ and interesting rhythmic and textural elements on ‘Rage Flows’ also work, but there are plenty of others that miss the mark.

There are reasons to listen, though.

The soca of new single ‘Watch Out For This (Bumaye)’ will have carnival crowds rocking from Notting Hill to Nicaragua. And, of course, there is triple j’s sixth hottest record of 2012, ‘Get Free’, although those who came to be introduced to the Major via that track may be surprised by the rest of the album. Only ‘Jessica’, sung by Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, shares its lazy skank.

A shouty refrain fails to capitalise on the verses’ summery riff in ‘6-5000’; likewise, ‘Permanent Hesitation’ possesses a shady, dancefloor-ready groove, but the vibe is killed by a straight guitar pop chorus. ‘With Her Shadow’ follows a manic pixie dream girl who loves running wild in the sun because “she always liked her shadow more than her reflection” – a pop refrain that’s beyond cheesy.

Dick, pussy, money, bitches (repeat to fade)... zzzzzzzzz...

The purists will be peeved, but Major Lazer has given mainstream festivalgoers a new soundtrack to lose it to during cider-fuelled summer evenings.

Born Ruffians are flirting, sometimes successfully, with a more ‘pop’ sound, but a failure to fully commit results in Birthmarks, for the most part, falling flat.

David Wild

David Wild

Jenny Noyes

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK RILO KILEY

BORN RUFFIANS

Free The Universe Warner Music

I Am Not A Human Being II Cash Money/Universal On his latest album Lil Wayne says ten words before he mentions his dick. As in: “I’m in the crib butt-naked, bitch / She say my dick could be the next black president.” Haven’t we been here before?

Benjamin Cooper

MAJOR LAZER

LIL WAYNE

Mosquito Modular/Universal Music Australia

messy puddle of punk and psychedelia. They get kinda close to a ballad on closer ‘Minotaur’, but even this is dominated by appealing ponderings about the mundane alongside unexpected, and somehow fitting, dashes of fiddle.

Under The Blacklight – which actually wasn’t that terrible – the band seemed to implode and they were outta there. The move was hastened by the break-up of lead songwriters, former TV stars and lovers Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett.

We suffered significantly.

If there’s one thing that Rkives, a selection of rarities and B-sides and re-recordings by the band across their career, proves, it’s that Rilo Kiley always had the songs to back themselves up. It sounds like a full album despite poaching its sounds from a wide cross-section of their creative career, and takes in the full scope of Lewis’ aspirations as a vocalist.

There’s many nods towards the delicate, alt-country sound that endeared them

to so many on 2002’s The Execution Of All Things, but there’s also quite a substantial amount of powerpopinfluenced rockers in there, too. The thing to note here is that, with the exception of a few rehashes, there is actually nothing on this record that sucks. It could serve as an introduction to the band perhaps more holistically than any of their official releases, and the things that make Rilo Kiley attractive – their penchant for drama, Lewis’ arcing melodic lines, their mastery over quiet introspection and fistpumping ballads – are all here.

A bittersweet end to a highly underrated and meaningful career.

Jonno Seidler

OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week...

CAYUCAS - Bigfoot CHVRCHES - Recover EP BUDDY GUY, JUNIOR WELLS - Play the Blues

KRAFTWERK - Tour de France Soundtracks PRINCE - 3121

live reviews What we've been to see...

KIRIN J CALLINAN

St James' Church Crypt Reviewed Friday April 12 I wonder if the church had listened to Callinan’s music before letting the Antichrist play in the House of God. Maybe that’s why his new single was only released that morning.

As the second performance that evening, Callinan confessed to having a tough first crowd. This motley crew, however, were a lot more vocal. A glitter snorter behind me couldn’t help but express his lust, which was only partially subdued

by Callinan who used the concertgoer to hold his guitar lead in place.

A projected hand beckoned the sold-out audience to walk down into the underground crypt of St James’ Church; it was a matter of following the electronic echoes bellowing from barren passages. As your eyes adjusted to the dark, only the flickering, acid-drenched images on stacked television screens lit the way to the center of the crypt.

Lifting his outstretched arms to shoulder height, a characteristic Callinan pose, the artist entered the surreal. The dry ice machine went into overdrive as the crypt filled with smoke so thick that you couldn’t see the person next to you. Completely disoriented, your only bit of reality was narrowed down to multicolored strobe lights and the sound of Callinan’s droning guitar.

Opening with the anti-Christian morals of ‘Thighs’, you could feel Callinan’s sharp guitar dynamics reverberate off the church’s stone walls and into what was left of your soul. The title track from his upcoming release Embracism is raw, dark and physical as the rest of his work. Currently available as a free download, you should definitely get involved.

Raging into a dramatic rendition of ‘Way To War’, the SXSW-worthy performance clarified why Callinan was targeted as one to watch. Bellowing “God is in the water/and hell is right here on earth”, the windows of a cappella within ‘Landslide‘ will find no better home than in the crypt of St James.

Surrounded by his ritualistic semicircle of guitar pedals, the small lights glowed like candles at the shrine of Callinan.

Occasionally dropping into a hunched mindless stare while performing, the only aspect that remained human was his strong Australian accent.

Turning offstage to meekly crouch behind an amp out of sight – an eager audience was replied with Callinan’s love of suspense. Callinan builds you up into a state of madness, but there is no release.

DUNE RATS, SURES, PRO VITA

are joined by frequent guest bassist Brett Jansch, and the set begins with a few newer powerpop tracks. Despite the two permanent Dune Rats coming across as stoner caricatures, including some frankly impressive burping between songs, there’s no nonchalance about their playing. Crowd favourite like ‘Fuck It’ is delivered reasonably just as tight as a party anthem can be. With well over half of the enthusiastic punters jostling in the tight area between the stage and stairs, it’s in the second half of the night that the real stars go from being the band to the bar’s security guards.

Brighton Up Bar Reviewed April 11

No matter how thrashy they play their guitars or how loud they thump their drums, when some of Pro Vita’s songs feature more “Woo’s” than words, you know this is pure pop. The standout of this Sunshine Coast band is the bass, so light-fingered, it sounds like it’s bouncing from the speakers. Pro Vita play with an infectious fun that overpowers the suspicion that their inane rhyming couplets about girls make Ratcat lyrics sound deep.

As the token locals tonight, Sures offer a change in pace, swapping the garage aesthetic for a layering that sounds like it would fill a stadium. Each song jumps between genres – from the noise pop pounder ‘Stars’ to the lush ‘Poseidon’, suitable for a ‘50s school prom – but what remains consistent are the wonderful harmonies. It’s far from unique to draw influence from the Beach Boys, but what is a treat is to hear it done so confidently and imbued with a chunky wall of sound made for festival mainstages.

From the moment Dune Rats start, we’re at a hazy house party. Singer/guitarist Danny Beus and drummer BC Michaels

Tanydd Jaquet

As the party vibe grows to dangerously fun levels, spurred on by tracks like ‘Wooo!’ and ‘Pogo’, they seem utterly bewildered with how to regain control, and start giving time outs to especially boisterous dancers.

It’s like a chaotic frat scene from Animal House, and it’s truly hilarious, to both punters and the band. Things finally reach tipping point with ‘Red Light Green Light’, and the stage gets rushed, before Beus leads the true finale – the sloppiest ‘Blister In The Sun’ cover you’re ever likely to hear. It’s nothing but smiles upon leaving, and hopefully a good night’s sleep for our brave brothers in crowd control.

Simon Topper

FRI 26 APR SAT 27 APR NIC BEZINA PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION FT.

KIRA PURU & THE BRUISE ARTERIES

(THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS)

THU 2 MAY FRI 3 MAY JESS DUNBAR OXFORD & CO UACSC

HAMISH ANDERSON

MATTPRICE REDCAVALRY BRISCOE 6WHITEHORSES

SAT 4 MAY THU 9 MAY

LIVE AT THE RIOT Coming Up

EGY BOY (LITHUANIA)

‘ART IS NOT DEAD’ ILLUSTRATION EXHIBITION

IN MAY

10th BLIND VALLEY 11th OWL EYES 16th NEON TREES

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beat club

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birdy

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dead letter circus

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12:04:13 :: Sydney Opera House :: Bennelong Point Sydney 9250 7111

neighbourhood watch

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11:04:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711

12:04:13 :: Annandale Hotel :: 17 Paramatta Rd Annandale 9550 1078 S : TIM OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

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LEWIS :: ASHLEY MAR ::

civilians

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11:04:13 :: The Standard :: 3/383 Bourke St Darlinghurst 9331 3100

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live reviews What we've been to see...

Hordern Pavilion Reviewed Saturday April 6 The xx’s 2013 Australian tour had been the highlight on many a hipster’s social calendar for months. The British trio sold out their first Sydney show within 15 minutes.

My Facebook was saturated with poorly taken Instagram snaps of tickets, followed by multiple exclamation marks and snappy comments: “The xx, killing it, yeah”. There was no doubting the hype that surrounded The xx’s Hordern shows.

Opening with ‘Try’ from their 2012 release Coexist, the three lone shadows on stage, clad in black, were almost swallowed up in fog and dimmed blue light as Romy Madley Croft cried out: “I wont believe it till I can feel it / Can you feel it too?”

They moved quickly into a striped back version of ‘Crystalised’ and ‘Chained’, the crowd singing along to nearly every word. It was followed by a superb mash-up of Jamie xx’s ‘Far Nearer’ and The xx’s ‘Reunion’. On decks at the back working under a single spotlight, Jamie xx he had the 5000 plus crowd enraptured. And man, does that guy make you wanna’ move.

hand games

In hindsight, the gig should probably have been advertised as The xx ft. Jamie Xxx And while it absolutely showcased Jamie xx’s supreme talent, I’m not so sure the Jamie xx influence made for a better gig.

Jamie xx solo show – yes. The xx solo show – yes. But together the combination made it difficult for The xx to create their acclaimed atmosphere of melancholy and misunderstandings and tended to take away from Jamie’s xx ability to seriously drop a beat.

As the band finished ‘Infinity’, a giant X slowly took shape at the back of the stage, followed by an encore of ‘Intro’ and ‘Angel’.

The xx have an innate ability to capture the complexities of the heart’s deepest recesses with only a few barely audible whispers and the gentle strum of a guitar.

The encore gave them the space to finally recreate what many of us had connected with on their two albums – a dark, mysterious world of heartbreak and lust.

Into the silence Croft spoke gently, “…and with words unspoken / A silent devotion / I know you know what I mean / And the end is unknown / But I think I’m ready.” I guess they got there in the end.

Liz Brown

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THE XX

british india

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13:04:13 :: The Metro :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666 S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO)

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g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week Tegan & Sara

Kellys On King, Newtown free 7pm

TUESDAY APRIL 23 ROCK & POP

SATURDAY APRIL 27

Maitland M i Showground

Groovin’ The Moo: The Kooks (UK), Tegan & Sara (CAN), Tame Impala, They Might Be Giants (USA), Regurgitator, Flume, Example (UK), The Temper Trap, Frightened Rabbit (UK), Matt & Kim (USA), Midnight Juggernauts, Pez, Alison Wonderland, Alpine, The Amity Affliction, The Bronx (USA), DZ Deathrays (DJ set), Ellesquire, Last Dinosaurs, Hungry Kids Of Hungary, Seth Sentry, Tuka, Urthboy, DJ Woody’s Big Phat 90s Mixtape (UK), Yacht (USA), Yolanda Be Cool, Goldsmith, The Owls, Galleri, Fishing sold out 10.30am MONDAY APRIL 22 ROCK & POP

Brian Campeau Venue 505, Surry Hills $10 28 :: BRAG :: 509 : 22:04:13

8pm Liverpool Idol: Cameria, Global Language Democracy, Angharad Yeo, November’s Oath, Eden’s March, Chloet Kayla, Dawn Of The Apes Collingwood Hotel, Liverpool $15 7pm

JAZZ

Latin Jazz Open Mic The World Bar, Kings Cross free 7pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Helmut Uhlmann, Chris Brookes, Massimo Presti

Ben Hazlewood, Chris Rose Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $15 8pm David Ryan Harris (USA), Amali Ward The Basement, Circular Quay $20 (+ bf) 7.30pm Flamin’ Groovies (USA), Peter Case Band (USA), The Plimsouls Annandale Hotel $48 8pm Josh Groban (USA) Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay sold out 8pm Paintbox City, Lily Rouge, A Girl A Gun, The Curse Of Mary Sue The Wall @ Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt $12 7.30pm

JAZZ

Old School Funk And Groove Night Venue 505, Surry Hills free 8pm Pure Bohemia: Gadjo Guitars The Vanguard, Newtown $23.80 7.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Angelene Harris, Sundown Shamans, Yeri Hye, Nick Summerfield, Jasmin Jones, Groove Sharp, Jade Imogen Ambroze Tea Gardens Hotel, Bondi Junction free 7pm Darren Bennett George IV Inn, Picton free 7.30pm Greg Sita, Michelle Christensen, Lauren Elyse, Emad Younan, Lissy Noelle, Mask Dee Why Hotel free 7pm Peach Montgomery Newington Inn, Petersham free 7pm

WEDNESDAY APRIL 24 ROCK & POP

28 Days The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Parks $25.50 7.30pm Big Scary, Caitlin Park Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $18 7.30pm The Bronx (USA), Violent Soho, Hostile Objects Annandale Hotel sold out 8pm Dappled Cities, Collarbones, Donny Benet Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $16.50(+ bf) 8pm

Duelling Pianos Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 7pm The Handsome Young Strangers, Oh Willy Dear, Two Girls Will Brass Monkey, Cronulla $15.30 7pm The Hillbilly Killers The Basement, Circular Quay $28 (+ bf) 7.30pm Josh Groban (USA) Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay $132.50-$183.50 (+ bf) 8pm Kid Courageous, Because They Can, F.R.I.E.N.D/s Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 7pm King Tuff (USA), Palms, Straight Arrows DJs, Chicks Who Love Guns DJs, Cries Wolf DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $15 11pm Little Bastard FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel free 1pm Musos Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt free 8pm Rufino & The Coconuts, Jai Pyne, DJ Goldfoot Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $10 7pm Summer Flake, Disgusting People, Mope City, The High Ceilings Petersham Bowling Club 7.30pm They Might Be Giants (USA), Pluto Jonze Metro Theatre, Sydney sold out 8pm Vibrations At Valve Band Competition Valve Bar & Venue, Tempe 7pm Yard Duty, Blonde Band, The Blurst, The Hengbao Sharpies Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $5 8pm

JAZZ

Joseph Tawadros Venue 505, Surry Hills $25$30 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Angelene Harris, Matt McGowen, Burny Cat And Fiddle Hotel, Balmain free 7pm Greg Sita, Brad Myers Avalon Beach RSL Club free 7pm TAOS, John Chesher, Velvet Road, Blonde Baggage Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick free 7pm

THURSDAY APRIL 25 ROCK & POP

All Day, NJE, Elemont Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $12 8pm

ANZAC Day At The Vic: Spurs For Jesus, Handsome Young Strangers, Jay Katz Vic On The Park Hotel, Enmore free 10am The Bronx (USA), DZ Deathrays, Epics Annandale Hotel sold out 8pm D At Sea, Chasing Ghosts, Millie Tizzard Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 6pm Dead Punk ANZAC Special: The Baddies, Rather Be Dead, Dead Shits, Dead In The Gutter, Cap A Capo, Riot Nine, Mangrove Jack, Heaps Goods, Hold Fast Valve Bar & Venue, Tempe 1pm Glenn Hughes (UK) The Basement, Circular Quay $60 (+ bf) 7.30pm God Bows To Math (NZ), Yes I’m Leaving, No Art Black Wire Records, Annandale $10 7pm Jon Stevens Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 7pm Mojo Juju Moonshine, Hotel Steyne, Manly free 9pm Musos’ Club Jam Night Carousel Hotel, Rooty Hill free 8pm Otep (USA) The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park $55.50 8pm all-ages Skyscraper Mill Hill, Bondi Junction free 5.30pm Spookyland, Bradle Cork, The Eastern (NZ) FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Tegan And Sara (CAN) Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay $44-$74 (+ bf) 8pm They Might Be Giants (USA) Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills $59 (+ bf) 7pm Turin Brakes (UK) Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $27 (+ bf) 9pm

JAZZ

Sussurro Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $25 7pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Daniel Hopkins Olympic Hotel, Paddington free 7.30pm Peach Montgomery Forest Lodge Hotel, Glebe free 7.0pm

FRIDAY APRIL 26 ROCK & POP

Atra Vetosus, Heisenberg, Balescream, Celebrity Morgue, Dionysus Valve Bar & Venue, Tempe 7pm

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Blackchords, Hailer, Elliot Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 8pm The Bronx (USA), DZ Deathrays, Chinese Burns Unit Annandale Hotel sold out 8pm Dawnheist, Red Bee, Nasjap, In Death, Spear Brittany, Acid Nymph The Wall @ Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt $15 8pm Duelling Pianos Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 7pm Flamin’ Beauties Crown Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Howlin’ Steam Train, Los Tones, Blind Valley The Vanguard, Newtown $15.80 8pm John Vella Chatswood RSL free 5.30pm Lonely Kids Club Winter Range Launch Party: Moonbase Commander, Embassy, Cherax Destructor Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm MUM: Pop The Hatch, Simo Soo, Jor Ja, Roleo, This Mess, Bambii, JK Rollin, Swim Team, Bass Towers, Safia, The Fontaynes, The Owls The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm The Music Makers Club: Crossing Red Lines, The Velvets, JudahCall, Fever Pitch, Ocean Alley, Direwolf Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Oxblvd, Tim Nelson & The Infadels, Amanda Merzdan Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Ray Beadle, Peter Northcote, Stuart ‘Stuie’ French

The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf) 7.30pm Release The Hounds Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel 7pm all-ages Six60 Metro Theatre, Sydney $38.90 8pm Stars Of Addiction, Feeding Edgar, Summers Mix Tape The Lair, Metro Theatre, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8.30pm Stu Larsen & Natsuki Kurai, Tim Moore, Hailey Calvert FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $15 8pm Tegan & Sara (CAN) Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay $44-$74 (+ bf) 8pm To Her Door - A Tribute To Paul Kelly Brass Monkey, Cronulla $23.50 7pm Velvet Cave: The Dolly Rocker Movement, Buried Feather, House Of Laurence, Velvet Gallagher, Sven Blements, Bobby B Bob, Swami & Boxx Nostik Club 77, Darlinghurst $10 9pm We All Want To, Bambino Koresh, Charlie Horse Goodgod Small Club, Sydney 8pm

JAZZ

Chosani Afrique Venue 505, Surry Hills $15$20 8pm Nadya & The 101 Candles Orkestra Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $25-$30 (+ bf) 7pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Busking On Mars: Braden Evans, Daniel Allars Downstairs, Mars Hill Cafe, Parramatta 6.30pm

Mars Hill Cafe Presents A Bob Dylan Tribute Upstairs, Mars Hill Cafe, Parramatta 7.30pm

SATURDAY APRIL 27 ROCK & POP

Amodus, Heisenberg, Balescream, Celebrity Morgue, Dionysus Valve Bar & Venue, Tempe 7pm Arms Attraction, Red Beard, Glass Ocean, Kiss Me! Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel 13.30 8pm Barbarion Annandale Hotel $12.25 8pm Black Sabbath (UK) Allphones Arena, Olympic Park, Homebush Bay $119.90-$159.90 7.30pm Breakaway, Swing From A Streetlight, Soap Box Derby, Super Match Game The Wall @ Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt $10 8pm Busking On Mars: Osman & Andrew, Will Thackry Duo Downstairs, Mars Hill Cafe, Parramatta 6.30pm The Darkened Seas, The Hollow Bones, The Jones Revival, New Brutalists FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm The Delta Riggs, Stillwater Giants, The Guppies Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm The Drones, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay $39$64 (+ bf) 8pm Furnace and the

Fundamentals, Tales In Space, Soheyla, Liz Bird Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Groovin’ The Moo: The Kooks (UK), Tegan & Sara (CAN), Tame Impala, They Might Be Giants (USA), Regurgitator, Flume, Example (UK), The Temper Trap, Frightened Rabbit (UK), Matt & Kim (USA), Midnight Juggernauts, Pez, Alison Wonderland, Alpine, The Amity Affliction, The Bronx (USA), DZ Deathrays (DJ set), Ellesquire, Hungary Kids Of Hungary, Last Dinosaurs, Seth Sentry, Tuka, Urthboy, DJ Woody’s Big Phat 90s Mixtape (UK), Yacht (USA), Yolanda Be Cool, Goldsmith, The Owls, Galleri, Fishing Maitland Showground sold out 10.30am Kittens: Nova & The Experience, Enervate, Zoe Elliot, Kittens DJs Spectrum, Darlinghurst $10 9pm Laura Imbruglia, Shady Lane, Sonia Strano Union Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Masketta Fall The Lair, Metro Theatre, Sydney $17 (+ bf) 5pm allages Mat McHugh and Seperista Soundsystem The Standard, Surry Hills $25 (+ bf) 7pm Ray Beadle, Peter Northcote, Stuart French Brass Monkey, Cronulla $28.60 7pm Saskwatch, Money For Rope Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $20 (+ bf) 8pm

Soul Sounds - Celebrating The Smooth Soul Sounds Of Anita Baker and Maxwell The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf) 7.30pm The Stevens, Day Ravies, Adults The Old Fitzroy Hotel, Woolloomooloo $10 8pm Sydney Blues Society: The El Caminos Botany View Hotel, Newtown free 5.30pm Tabitha & The Clique Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 7pm The Upskirts, Buried Feather Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Woodlock, Everything After, JackManFriday, Jarne Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel $20 2pm all-ages

JAZZ

Afro Moses O’Jah Blue Beat, Double Bay $10 (+ bf) 9pm Soul Jazz Remix Live: Lionel Cole, Rosie Venue 505, Surry Hills $15$20 8pm Waiting For Guinness Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $25 7pm

SUNDAY APRIL 28 ROCK & POP

Mojo Juju, The Harlots, Sweet Jean The Vanguard, Newtown $23.80 7pm Screaming Sundays: The Stray Medics, The Wastoids, Yosko, Sugar Sun, Tom River & The Boatmen, Snaketide, The Dirty Earth, Dallas Pony, Winters End, The Rubix, Joshua Daniel Rendell, Tiger Dragon, Crowd To The Shore Annandale Hotel $15 12pm Suite Az Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 8pm Waking Giants, Elanora Heights, Lakeside, Absolution Valve Bar & Venue, Tempe 4pm Watussi Moonshine, Hotel Steyne, Manly free 5pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Busking On Mars: Monks Of Cool Downstairs, Mars Hill Cafe, Parramatta 1pm Daniel Hopkins, Sundown Shamans, Hailstone, Gemma Collard, Gregory Izossimov North Manly Bowling & Recreation Club, North Manly free 2pm Emma Hamilton, Jordan C. Thomas Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $15 (+ bf) 6.30pm Peach Montgomery Salisbury Hotel, Stanmore free 2pm

Finn R.G. McGee’s Hotel, Richmond free 2pm

We has internets!

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

tue

23

wed

(9:00PM - 1:00AM)

24

Apr

Apr

thu

25 Apr

(1:00PM - 3:45PM)

(4:15PM - 7:30PM)

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

fri

26 Apr

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

(9:30PM - 1:30AM)

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

sat

27 Apr

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

SATURDAY NIGHT

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

sun

28 Apr

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

SUNDAY NIGHT

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

Extra bits and moving bits without the inky fingers.

www.thebrag.com BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13 :: 29

gig picks

up all night out all week...

TUESDAY APRIL 23

Little Bastard FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel free 1pm

Flaminâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Groovies (USA), Peter Case Band (USA), The Plimsouls Annandale Hotel $48 8pm

Yard Duty, Blonde Band, The Blurst, The Hengbao Sharpies Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $5 8pm

WEDNESDAY APRIL 24 Big Scary, Caitlin Park Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $18 7.30pm Dappled Cities, Collarbones, Donny Benet Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $16.50 (+ bf) 8pm The Hillbilly Killers The Basement, Circular Quay $28 (+ bf) 7.30pm King Tuff (USA), Palms, Straight Arrows DJs, Chicks Who Love Guns DJs, Cries Wolf DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $15 11pm

The Drones

Furnace and the Fundamentals, Tales In Space, Soheyla, Liz Bird Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm

THURSDAY APRIL 25

Laura Imbruglia, Shady Lane, Sonia Strano Union Hotel, Newtown free 8pm

ANZAC Day At The Vic: Spurs For Jesus, Handsome Young Strangers, Jay Katz Vic On The Park Hotel, Enmore free 10am Tegan And Sara (CAN) Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay $44-$74 (+ bf) 8pm They Might Be Giants (USA) Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills $59 (+ bf) 7pm Turin Brakes (UK) Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $27 (+ bf) 9pm

Mat McHugh and Seperista Soundsystem The Standard, Surry Hills $25 (+ bf) 7pm

FRIDAY APRIL 26 Blackchords, Hailer, Elliot Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 8pm The Bronx (USA), DZ Deathrays, Chinese Burns Unit Annandale Hotel sold out 8pm Lonely Kids Club Winter Range Launch Party: Moonbase Commander, Embassy, Cherax Destructor Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm MUM: Pop The Hatch, Simo Soo, Jor Ja, Roleo, This Mess, Bambii, JK Rollin, Swim Team, Bass Towers, Safia, The Fontaynes, The Owls The World Bar, Kings Cross $10$15 8pm

Big Scary

30 :: BRAG :: 509 : 22:04:13

The Drones, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay $39-$64 (+ bf) 8pm

The Music Makers Club: Crossing Red Lines, The Velvets, JudahCall, Fever Pitch, Ocean Alley, Direwolf Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm

Velvet Cave: The Dolly Rocker Movement, Buried Feather, House Of Laurence, Velvet Gallagher, Sven Blements, Bobby B Bob, Swami & Boxx Nostik Club 77, Darlinghurst $10 9pm We All Want To, Bambino Koresh, Charlie Horse Goodgod Small Club, Sydney 8pm

Saskwatch, Money For Rope Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $20 (+ bf) 8pm

SUNDAY APRIL 28 Mojo Juju, The Harlots, Sweet Jean The Vanguard, Newtown $23.80 7pm

SATURDAY APRIL 27 Black Sabbath (UK) Allphones Arena, Olympic Park, Homebush Bay $119.90-$159.90 7.30pm The Darkened Seas, The Hollow Bones, The Jones Revival, New Brutalists FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm The Delta Riggs, Stillwater Giants, The Guppies Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm

Mojo Juju

brag beats

BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery

five things WITH

MARK AND ALEX FROM GARDLAND

MANUAL LOVES AUSTRALIA

For any cynics wanting empirical evidence to support the claim that more Australian producers are infiltrating the European club scene, this one’s for you: Rotterdam label Manual Music has released an EP titled Manual Loves Australia, which is exclusively comprised of tracks from Aussie club producers. The likes of Jamie Stevens, Darius Bassiray, Rich Curtis, Child and Sydney duo Trinity & Beyond all feature, showcasing more progressive takes on techno. The EP is currently available digitally on Beatport, and any local DJs looking to rep some homegrown talent in their sets could do worse than downloading it.

Urthboy

MAD RACKET SCORES VAKULA

Ukrainian DJ and producer Vakula will headline the next Mad Racket party at Marrickville Bowling Club on Saturday May 11.

Vakula initially showcased his jazz-influenced take on deep house with releases on labels like Uzuri, Quintessentials and Doppelschall, before ramping things up over the past few years. Following a prolific 2011 that included an EP on Pheek’s Archipel label, Vakula released two artist albums last year under alternate monikers; the first under the name ‘V’ and the second under the name ‘Vedomir’, which offered more left-field sounds when compared to the classic deep house feel of V. In recent times, Vakula has reworked Trus’me’s ‘Need A Job’ into a visceral slab of acid house, a remix that will arouse the appetites of technophiles for his forthcoming album. As always, the resident Racketeers will be spinning records in support.

Growing Up Mark: My dad had 1. pretty good, eclectic taste –

landscapes that totally transport you.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

Asger Jorn, matching the

shit from Kraftwerk to The Drones.

Alex: My folks were into world music so I got exposed to a whole heap of diverse stuff. We both come from a background of drumming in Sydney bands and perhaps our music still exhibits the same brash imperfections of rock.

Your Group We keep a pretty tight crew. Obviously guys we’re releasing on our label, Hunter Gatherer, like Cassius Select and Nander, are creating a really positive energy for everyone’s workflow. The Anomaly guys are blood brothers too, playing great music and touring awesome internationals like Dino Sabatini and Rrose.

Likewise, the Spiral Sounds, The Finer Things, Astral, and Racket crews are always doing sick things.

We’ll be dipping our toes in the New York scene too this year, with our debut album coming out on RVNG Intl.

3.

quality of Silent Servant the other week, was proof that Sydney is producing some world-class music. Likewise Tuff Sherm, Cassius Select, Cliques, Alba and all our mates are doing some crazy stuff. Australian music is totally Darwinian and when you back off trying to sound like how techno sounds in Europe, it makes for something unique.

That’s why we’re real psyched for our label night where we can showcase world-class local music. It feels like we’re all building towards something much needed for the city. It’ll be a good rave.

Inspirations Mark: Seeing 2.

Morphosis, Kangding Ray and Donato Dozzy at Labyrinth was about as inspirational a moment as I could imagine. All total pros with uncompromising standards and distinct musical personalities. Everything out on PAN is amazing. Lee Gamble is probably the most inspirational guy working today.

Alex: Ditto with the PAN talk. I’ve also been pretty immersed in harder techno recently. Guys like Lucy, Rrose and Shifted have the innate ability to create unique and hypnotic sonic

The Music You Make Our music is a product 4. of spontaneous jamming that embraces human flaws over a false sense of digital perfection. Our live sets are totally improvised, swinging anywhere from fractured house to synth explorations to Birmingham-style techno.

xxx photo by xx

MOVEMENT CANCELLED, SUPAFEST POSTPONED

It’s been a sad week for Australian hip hop fans, with Live Nation and Niche Productions announcing the cancellation of the inaugural Movement Festival, which was slotted to take place at The Hordern Pavilion this Friday. Meanwhile, Supafest 4 (T.I., 50 Cent, Young Jeezy, Waka Flocka, Akon, more), also scheduled for this week has been postponed until November, with promoter Dwayne Cross claiming they “simply need more time to get it right.” The official word on Movement’s cancellation is that recent developments, including changing venues and the withdrawal of Angel Haze (recording commitments) and more recently 2 Chainz (visa issues) prompted patron feedback that the event no longer reflected what had been advertised. Those who have purchased tickets will be provided with a full refund.

URTHBOY

This Wednesday Urthboy will play a free live show for Sosueme at the Beach Road Hotel in Bondi. The Australian hip hop figurehead released his most recent album Smokey’s Haunt at the end of last year through Elefant Traks, co-produced entirely

by Hermitude and Countbounce and featuring the singles ‘Naïve Bravado’ and ‘Knee Length Socks’. Support is provided by 21 year old rapper Allday, who’s garnered accolades for his smooth melodies and lyrical flow.

Andy Cato

What: Hunter Gatherer label launch With: Cassius Select, Dave Fernades (HAHA), James Walsh, Gareth Psaltis (Anomaly) and Jordan Peters (Anomaly).

When: Saturday May 4 Where: Red Rattler Theatre / 6 Faversham St, MarrickvilleWhen: Wednesday April 17

MAX COOPER

Fresh from a breakout year in 2012, where he was voted Resident Advisor’s top live act and anointed Beatport’s top artist, English producer Max Cooper will play a four-hour set at Chinese Laundry on Saturday May 4. Cooper was a Genetic Research student before he was lured into the hypnotic vortex of electronic music around a decade ago.

He’s subsequently chalked up over 50 original releases, from glitchy interpretations of bands such as Portishead, Hot Chip and Au Revoir Simone to dancefloor 12”s like his breakthrough ‘Serie’ originals, and remixes for names like Agoria, Dominik Eulberg and Sasha. Cooper introduced Sydneysiders to his melodic soundscapes with a memorable performance at the Subsonic Music Festival in 2011, and will this time perform in the more confined catacombs of ‘The Cave’, located deep in the bowels of Chinese Laundry.

ANDY CATO SOLO LP

Andy Cato, the driving force behind Groove Armada, will release his first solo LP next week, entitled Times & Places. Cato started out as a rave promoter in the UK in the early ’90s, and has occasionally released solo club tracks in-between his prolific output with Groove Armada – most memorably on his collaboration with Francois Dubois (AKA Funk D’Void), ‘Blood’. Cato says that inspiration for the album came to him in 2011 “at daybreak in an East European republic on top of a Greek temple,” when he decided to “create an audio diary of [his] life in music.” Times & Places is described as “a collection of recordings that stretches as far back as 20 years,” comprising tracks that were recorded everywhere from “tour buses, in airport lounges and beyond” to “those long moments in between gigs where a four-track, computer or piano was to hand”.

BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13 :: 31

dance music news

free stuff

club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

on the record WITH

Sampology

EATS EVERYTHING The First Record I Bought: I think it was Queens’ 1.

Greatest Hits in 1988 and it was

as I write this, it’s fucking great out here!

from Our Price in Yate (UK)!

Three Records I’ll Definitely Be Playing: Justin Martin and I have a new single out on Dirty Bird in May called ‘The Gettup’, that’ll definitely be getting a play, and also my edits of Breach’s ‘Jack’ and Supernova’s ‘The Bridge’.

Thing I’m Most Looking Forward to in Oz: 4.

Good barbecued meat is the

2.

order of my stay in Australia, I have been told that you guys do it the best so I am eager to get heavily involved! It’s my first time visiting as a DJ and as a tourist, so I’m majorly excited about it!

5.

What I’ve Been Up To Recently: 3.

I‘ve been working on a collab with T-E-E-D on Crosstown Rebels, which is out soon, and a collab EP with Catz ’N Dogz, out on Pets in August. And the past few months I’ve been in Mexico, Miami and the rest of the USA, as well as Snowbombing Festival in Austria, to name but a few. I’ll be coming to Oz directly from Asia - I’m in the middle of a tour

Three Classic Records That Never Fail: Marshall Jefferson’s house anthem ‘Move Your Body’, Cirez D (Eric Prydz) ‘B-Boy’ and Junior Vasquez sassy ‘Get Your Hands Off My Man!’.

What: Chinese Laundry presents Garden Party featuring Eats Everything (UK) Where: Ivy Courtyard When: Saturday April 27

KLP LAUNCHES EP, RAISES $ FOR CHARITY

PICNIC FEAT. GENIUS OF TIME

Swedish duo Alexander Berg and Nils Krogh, who go about their business under the moniker Genius Of Time, will headline the next Picnic bash at The Civic Underground on Friday May 10. Genius Of Time have released the majority of their music on their own vinyl only label, Aniara Recordings, while remixing the likes of Trickski, The Tortoise, Vincenzo, Kyodai and Urban Soul. Their sound is disco influenced, with plenty of ’90s house flourishes and subtle melodies creating a warm, polished, and deep aesthetic that flows throughout their DJ sets.

The party will span two floors, with the likes of Jimmy2sox, Kali, Andy Webb, Ariane, Marcus King and Toni Toni Lee also spinning. $15 early bird tickets are available online.

Genius Of Time

Kristy Lee Peters, AKA KLP, will perform at Goodgod on Thursday May 9 in support of her debut EP Revolution. KLP has established herself over the past two years as a respected DJ and guest vocalist, collaborating with the likes of Pnau, Infusion and Tonight Only.

Revolution will be released through Chookie, a new Sydney born and internationally based indie label fronted by local producer Dcup of Yolanda Be Cool fame. KLP will be joined by fellow Heaps Decent collaborators Charlie Chux and Stu Turner, as well as rising act Moonbase Commander, with all proceeds from the show to be donated to charity Heaps Decent, which organises music workshops around NSW for disadvantaged children.

COMMON PEOPLE

This Saturday, Le Garage, Mama Feel Good Collective and Brand New Second Hand descend on Tatler to present the next instalment of Common People, a party dedicated to music with soul and groove. Soul of Sydney resident block party DJs Cman and Juzzlikedat will be spinning along with DJ Tom One, who’s renowned for specialising

POP THAT

Lords of the dance Levins and Shantan are returning to Goodgod’s Danceteria on Saturday April 27 for the second ever Pop That and this time, they’ve invited a friend from Brissy to join the festivities. A young wizard by the name of Sampology, who’s just returned from his American tour, will join the boys as they take to the decks to mix rap and club sounds from all over the world. Pop That’s going to feature all things rappy and trappy, poppy and sloppy and we’ve got two double passes up for grabs. To nab one send us your deets and tell us your favourite rap song.

in the deeper side of music with soul, for a night of records covering the full spectrum of Afro inspired sounds. That means dancers can expect a mix of dancefloor jazz, hip hop, house, funk, and Afrobeat. Doors open at 9pm, with entry $5 on the door.

CHYMERA

On Saturday May 18, Irish producer Chymera will headline Sequential at The Civic Underground. Chymera’s productions traverse house and techno sounds, ranging from big-room tracks to deeper cuts, all of which are characterised by melodic flourishes.

Chymera burst onto the scene in the acidwashed summer of 2006 and has since built an impressive discography, culminating in his latest album Death By Misadventure, released last year on Offenbach imprint Connaisseur Recordings and lauded by aficionado Philip Sherburne as a “lush, dramatic, ambitious” release with a “distinctly Innervisions-influenced approach that crosses Detroit techno with acoustic instruments and soaring vocals.” Chymera will play a threehour live set, with Ben Shields, Brendan Clay and Dave Rogers rounding off the line-up.

Early bird pre-sale tickets are available online for $15.

Oxia

Subsonic’s newest series of events SUBCLUB launches this Saturday with a bash across two levels of The Burdekin headlined

by Mobilee Records’ Rodriguez Jr. SUBCLUB is a party dedicated to bass, with Subsonic teaming up with Significant Others to transform the Burdekin’s ground floor into a world class musical and video experience courtesy of an extra 60kg of Turbosound boxes and Eyebyte Visuals. As for the headliner, Rodriguez Jr. established himself in the 32 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

club realm as part of the techno duo The Youngsters with Gilles Escoffier, releasing two acclaimed albums on Laurent Garnier’s F Communications imprint. Over the past few years, he’s established himself as a standalone producer, releasing his debut solo LP Bittersweet on Mobilee in 2011, and has just released a new mix, Back To Back Vol 7, which features nine Rodriguez Jr. tracks produced in collaboration with the likes of Anja Schneider and Sebo K. He’ll be flanked by a lengthy local support cast of DJs, including Berlin’s Pau, Marcotix, MSG and Melbournians UOne and Muska. The beats commence at 9pm.

OXIA

French producer Oxia will headline the Spice Cellar on Anzac Day Eve, Wednesday April 24. Oxia boasts a diverse sonic palette, transcending the club paradigm and incorporating jazz, soul and funk influences in his productions. Throughout his lengthy career, Oxia has released the LPs 24 Heures and Tides Of Mind, collaborated with the likes of Miss Kittin and released singles for labels like Kompakt, Tsuba and his own Goodlife imprint, which he set up with Alex Reynaud and The Hacker. Murat Kilic and Robbie Lowe will be throwing down in support.

Oxia photo by Audrey Laurent

SUB-CLUB FT. RODRIGUEZ JR.

Iggy Azalea The Metamorphosis By Tamara Vogl ggy Azalea’s success is unprecedented in the rap game. She’s the first Australian rapper to be triumphantly popularised in American hip hop, as well as the first female rapper to be featured on the coveted XXL Freshman Class list. Besides this, she’s become one of the most aesthetically individual breakthrough performers of this decade, with a rapidly maturing entrepreneurial spirit.

I

“I wanna be remembered as somebody who was unapologetically themselves.”

Off the back of her first mixtape, Ignorant Art, she signed with both T.I.’s Grand Hustle Records and famed Wilhelmina Models, while also turning down a record deal with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music. Her debut album, The New Classic, may not have dropped yet, but she’s still been chosen as the face of Levi’s ‘Go Forth’ campaign handpicked by Nas to support his world tour. Not bad for a relative newcomer.

At fourteen, Azalea started her own business, and would clean holiday accommodation and rental properties. “I worked hard,” Azalea says. “It was so meticulously planned.” A few years ago when returning home Azalea came across her art book in her old bedroom.

She says, “I had written down, ‘You need to make $37 and 20 cents a day.’ And I listed things I could do if I didn’t make that money, like I could mow someone’s lawn or clean someone’s house. I’d even listed my budget for once I arrived in Miami, including a day to day food budget.”

The question is how did Amethyst Kelly, a country girl from Mullumbimby in rural NSW, metamorphose aged 16 in Miami into rapgame-crusher Iggy Azalea?

The story starts with Tupac. “I always feel like he had this fight in him,” Azalea says. “I loved that, out of all the artists I would see, he was this big contradiction. He would say one thing, then say, ‘Fuck that. I think this now.’ He was so radical, so unedited and intelligent.

And I liked that about him.”

With polar opposite parents, Azalea grew up with a breadth of influence that would later direct her music career. “You’re normally numb to the people who are around you 24/7,” Azalea says. “But my dad was never around so I would cling onto his every fucking word.”

Her father was a cartoon artist, the first to introduce Azalea to visual art. She attributes her aesthetic creativity to his influence. “I thought he was brilliant,” she says. “I wanted to impress my dad so much… He would make me read different books and watch different things. Sometimes they were things about art. Other times he’d say, ‘Watch Al Pacino’s Dog Day Afternoon.’ He provided a cookie crumb trail of information that lead me down this path.”

Azalea’s mum, on the other hand, was a headstrong businesswoman, from whom Azalea inherited her entrepreneurial spirit.

“My mum probably hates me,” Azalea jokes.

“She would say, ‘Why do you always talk about your fucking dad?!’ But she will always be the first person I call when I need advice because she will always say, ‘This is what you do.’”

Her mother helped Azalea get her first job at thirteen. Living in the country with nothing in particular she wanted to buy, this is when she began saving. “I wanted as many jobs as I could get,” Azalea says. “I worked at a record store, a supermarket and a toy store. But I was paid shit money. I would go buy a deli sandwich for lunch and it cost me two hours worth of work.” Her mum thought outside the box and suggested she became a contract worker where she could make her own rates.

By the time she was sixteen, she was ready to make the big move. Azalea landed in Miami on July 4 2006 with only one friend in town. “I was shitting my pants,” Azalea says.

“I was thinking, ‘Fuck it’s for real now. What do I do?’” She went straight to the hotel and spent that first evening walking around, getting familiar with her surroundings.

Despite being in Miami, she was limited by her stringent budget and didn’t see the beach for six months. Gathering more friends, she ended up staying with them when she could no longer afford the hotel.

Azalea admits it took her much longer to get signed than she’d anticipated, but she was driven by her fear of having to come back home and start again. Eventually her efforts paid off, and with her music videos for ‘Pu$$y’ and ‘My World’ going viral, she was propelled onto the Urban radar. Her lead single ‘Work’ off the new album doesn’t do her journey justice – but it does give an idea of her insane work ethic and drive.

With success, inevitably, comes the hate, much of which has been directed at her Southern rapping accent and her ‘Whiteness’. Azalea says that while the negativity affected her last year, it doesn’t any more. “I don’t even look at it,” Azalea says. “I wanna be remembered as somebody who was unapologetically themselves. Even if it seems to make no sense. We get stuck as humans trying to make logical explanations for why we are the way we are in order to validate it. Maybe the reason is that it makes you happy.”

Commenting on her grand return to Australian shores, Azalea says it feels like a homecoming. “I’m really excited to stay on the road with Nas,” she says. “I haven’t been onstage in Australia since I was fifteen.

I almost shed a tear when everyone was excited that they announced me in the Movement line-up.”

What: ‘Work’ out now through Universal

BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13 :: 33

Karl Hyde

Living On The Edge By Alasdair Duncan

K

arl Hyde has spent more than two decades as the lead singer of Underworld, but his debut solo album sees him taking a step away from the world of stadium techno. Entitled Edgeland, its dreamy, droning songs inhabit a mysterious twilight place between day and night. Hyde’s lyrics have always taken inspiration from urban life, and this project, he tells me, is inspired by the outer suburbs of London – the strange, forgotten places where the city crumbles into the countryside. “A lot of people say those places are ugly,” he says, “but to me they’re beautiful. Every time I pass through them, I get a thrill from the things I find there – the handpainted signs on repair shops, the tiny market stalls. Those sights formed the backbone of this record.”

For as many years as he cares to remember, Hyde has carried notebooks with him – always the same type, always identical in appearance – to document his everyday experiences. “I start each day with a description of where I am and what’s happening,” he says. “I’ve always believed that we see the world as a series of

“We have some quieter songs on our albums and those songs touch a lot of people, but as the years progressed, we started playing to bigger and bigger dance crowds, and we dropped things like that out of the set.”

fragments and for 20 years I’ve just put pen and paper in my hand and documented the things I see, smell, touch and taste, and the ways that they make me feel.” Hyde always draws on these notebooks for his lyrics – the stream of consciousness-style observations of Underworld’s songs always come from these pages. The lyrics of Edgeland are filled with similar observations of the outer suburbs and the remarkable people who live there.

The songs on Edgeland are a hazy mixture of acoustic and electronic elements. Their unconventional structures, Hyde tells me, are no coincidence – all of the songs were improvised with the vocals and main instrumental parts all recorded in single takes.

It’s a working method he hasn’t employed since the early days of Underworld and he was excited to come back to it. “A lot of the tracks were written with my collaborator Leo Abrahams on the first day of recording,” he says. “I’d turn up with my words, he’d pick up a guitar, and then with some eye contact, we’d just start, letting the sounds evoke feelings.

We did eight sessions and produced 60 or 70 songs, then chose the most completesounding pieces from those.”

Improvising in the studio is a scary thing, requiring a good deal of trust on both sides, but Hyde tells me it’s his favoured way of working. “It feels like home to me,” he says.

“You have to put your ego to one side and be open enough to listen to the other person and share your ideas. I don’t like going into a room with my ideas and insisting that we do them – I like jamming and exchanging ideas and collaborating. Leo’s a very generous man, and he’s great to work with. I once played a gig in Sydney with The Necks, who were incredibly open and generous in letting me sing with them. They’re the kind of people I want to be around. That was the inspiration behind this record – I figured that, with good people in the studio, there’s a chance of something good happening.”

Underworld fans need not be concerned that Karl Hyde’s solo outing spells the end of the

group – in fact, he’s more excited than ever about his main band, and has even taken to playing Underworld songs during his current live show. “It’s been great,” he says, “because there are some Underworld tunes that people haven’t heard live for a long time and some that people will never have heard, because we never perform them. We have some quieter songs on our albums and those songs touch a lot of people, but as the years progressed, we started playing to bigger and bigger dance crowds, and we dropped things like that out of the set. It’s great to take a song like ‘Tongue’, from Dubnobasswithmyheadman and perform it in the voice of this new band.”

Hyde’s current live band comprises a fairly minimal selection of keys, bass and electronics – it’s a more sedate show, and allows him to communicate with audiences in ways that he hasn’t for decades. “Just a few weeks ago, Underworld were playing in a massive arena in Mexico City,” he says. “Two weeks later, I was doing a warm up in a tiny little club in Brighton with my other band. I love the fact that I can sing differently in this setting – I can bring

more subtle nuances to the vocals. I mean, I’m not saying that Underworld is holding me back or frustrating me – I want to carry on with Underworld forever. This other group allows me to try out new things that I wouldn’t be able to try with Underworld’s arena shows. I’m loving that – to be able to talk to audiences, tell stories about where the songs came from. In Underworld’s shows, that would kill the vibe; it would completely kill the energy.”

When Hyde returns to Underworld, his ultimate vision is to split the band in two – keep the existing arena techno arm of the group going, but also play more intimate, semi-acoustic shows. “There are very few bands that have done that,” he says. “We’ve always had that capability, but we’ve just focused on being the one band. We could build on the things that I’m doing with this band and put together a whole different kind of show.”

What: Karl Hyde for Vivid Sydney 2013 Where: Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall When: Monday May 27

Ben Klock One to watch By Jo Campbell

D

in Germany. But Klock is modest when this is put to him.

J/producer Ben Klock’s marathon sets are the stuff of legend. Alongside Marcel Dettmann, the Berliner is a resident at the legendary power station turned sweat fest for the techno-committed – the Berghain nightclub – in between sojourns around Europe and the world.

“I’ve grown into this step by step, really slowly, so now I’m at a point where I’m really confident in what I do. I don’t take anything for granted.

Every show is important no matter if it is small or big; I’m always trying to make it a magical night and want to deliver every time, even if I’m really tired and exhausted.”

At home in Berlin for three days before journeying for the weekend to Switzerland and Italy to play his dark, driving form of hypnotic minimalism, Ben Klock sounds as though he has a cold. In the last couple of weeks, he’s been to Paris, Miami, Portugal and London.

Klock is most definitely a man in demand, not least of all for his sheer diligence to ‘bringing the party’, sometimes even playing into Monday mornings.

His latest release was his Fabric 66 mix compilation; not an unusual platform as he plays in the London club around four times a year. The release follows his revered debut album One on Ostgut Ton and his Berghain mix.

“That was actually kind of a funny coincidence because I had this idea that it would be cool to do a mix for Fabric and Fabric had the idea that they wanted me on board but both sides were too shy to ask for quite a while,” he says of Fabric 66.

His monthly sets at Berghain inspire awe, often going for an epic 11 hours, begging the question of where he draws his energy from, let alone that many hours of fresh material on a regular basis.

“They thought I was busy with the Berghain and the mix series there and I thought they wouldn’t be interested because I’m a Berghain guy.”

“There is something magic about this place,” he says of the now legendary nightspot. “I have a special connection to the club and the people in the club. They appreciate what I do and I get so much energy back from them.

“Even two weeks ago, when I played the last time, I had three massive shows before then and three nights without sleep and I felt like ‘I can’t play today’ and then as soon as I get into Berghain all the tiredness is just gone and I play for ten hours.

“In the Berghain you can really send people on a hypnotic trip something that you can’t really do in a one hour slot.”

34 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

The mix features tracks from Burial, Octave One, Mathew Jonson, Marcel Dettmann and Floorplan, along with Klock’s own tracks and some from his prodigy, DVS1, who features on Klock’s own label, Klockwork.

“I don’t even look at my watch one time and I don’t even want to hear from people what time it is – if I knew the time I would get tired, but otherwise I will just play and play and all of a sudden, it’s been 11 hours.”

Known previously as Ostgut, Berghain opened in 2004 with Klock scoring a residency after just one go on the decks.

“That was a life changing moment,” he says.

“My whole career started off there. Every place has a different energy and it’s really

important for me to come back to my home club.

“With so many hours to play you can go deeper and you don’t have to do that festival set where you play one hour of banging high energy. In the Berghain you can really send people on a hypnotic trip – something that you can’t really do in a one hour slot.”

Klock was recently asked to perform at the Berlin Boiler Room, confirming his notoriety as one of the most in-demand DJ/producers

The week before Klock plays Sydney, the city will also play host to one of Klock’s inspirations, the godfather of Detroit techno Derrick May. Surprisingly, the two have never met, with Klock saying he’s never witnessed May’s set.

“He’s a big influence for all of us. I’ve never met him and I also have never heard him play live so I’m looking forward to that. His label was a big influence in the early days.”

What: Chinese Laundry presents Ben Klock Where: Chinese Laundry When: Saturday April 27

club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week Baauer

Soho, Potts Point Van She Tech, Ember, Tigerlily, Steve Frank, Kitsch 9pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice Oxia (FRA), Murat Kilic, Robbie Lowe, Steven Sullivan $20 10pm Tatler, Darlinghurst Mate’ing Slow Blow, Nic Scali, Matt Weir, Marc Jarvin, Bazil, Taylor Ferney, Locomotion $10-$20 9pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Smooch Mark Mileto, Billy B, Victor Sweet, Zannon, Nik Nak, Troy T, MC Deekay 9pm Whaat Club, Potts Point Whip It Wednesdays Vertigo DJs free 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Eptic (BEL), Kid Kenobi, Devola, Jace Disgrace, Fingers, Garage Pressure, Brown Bear, Pablo Calamari, Clockwerk, Hitterswitch, Step Brothers $5 8pm

THURSDAY APRIL 25

SATURDAY APRIL 27

Ivy, Sydney

Chinese Laundry Garden Party

Eats Everything (UK), Baauer (USA), Spenda C, Samrai, A-Tonez, Adam Zae, Hydraulix, Astrix, Mike Hyper, Sydney Be Heard DJs, Cheap Lettus, Magic Bird, Chenzo $50 (+ bf) 12pm

MONDAY APRIL 22 Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket Mother Of A Monday DJ Smokin’ Joe free 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Swim Team DJs free 7pm

TUESDAY APRIL 23 Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel Salsa DJ Willie Sabor free 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket I Love Goon Resident DJs free 7pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Coyote Tuesday Resident DJs 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Chu Andy & Mike, Dollar

Bear & Rees Hellmers, Moody & Nacho free 7.30pm

WEDNESDAY APRIL 24 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Urthboy, Allday free 8pm Candy’s Apartment, Kings Cross Vamp Music Toppo Toppo, Vengeance, Kyro & Bomber, Sherlock Bones, Stalker, Monstrum, Pirates, Crus vs Dime, Status, Ratman And Bobbin 9pm Civic Underground, Sydney House Of Mince Boris (GER), Matt Vaughan, Ben Drayton, Lovertits $20 (+ bf) 10pm Goldfish, Kings Cross Dance With Your Ears Ben Ashton, Start:Cue DJs, Aboutjack, H.I.T.A., Whitecat, Dan Watts $10 11pm Imperial Hotel Underground Club,

Erskinville DILF Combat ANZAC Day Eve DJs $30 10pm Ivy, Sydney Courtyard Party Otto Knows (SWE), Danger (FRA), Starfuckers, Nukewood, Fake Bratpack, NatNoiz, Lam, A-Tonez, Front To Back, Fear Of Dawn, Bes, Blowout DJs, Cue Play, Mark Haider, Tektro, Snillum, Paxx, Eratik, Mattban, TRTL, Matt Scott, Some Heard Trouble, Fiktion, Perve, Krangr, Matt James, Jack Pipes $70 5pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross KIT Wednesdays Resident DJs 10pm The Lewisham Hotel Garbage 90s Nights Resident DJs free 7pm The Parlour, Darlinghurst Beyond Sydney Launch Party Jonny Marsh (UK), Johan K, Dan Slater, Jimjam $20 11pm The Ranch Hotel, Epping Hump Wednesdays Resident DJs 8pm

Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway Bad Apple Mosca, James Cotterill, Garry Todd, Preacha vs Ben Fester, Bad Apples DJs, Matt Weir, Gabby, Fivers, Le Brond, Glitch DJs, Hannah Gibbs, Dan Baartz, Shivers, Kali $15-$25 (+ bf) 1pm Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst Communications Records Official Label Launch Nick Forrest ft. Aleks Zablotski, Loft, WhatIsLove?, Modal Soul, Daragh Byrne, Raffi Lovechild, James Fazzolari, Aleks Zablotskii free 4pm Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst Hot Damn Hot Damn DJs $15-$20 8pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney ANZAC Day Pool Party Goodwill, Ember, Ben Morris & Losty, Pablo Calamari, Jeff Drake, Pat Ward $35 2pm Ivy, Sydney Zen Anzac Day Special Zen DJs $25 8pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Resident DJs 10pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Rewind Resident DJs 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Take Over Thursday Resident DJs $10 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda DJ Moody (UK), Gillex, Dan Bombings, Becci Harts free (student)-$5 8pm

FRIDAY APRIL 26 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Dialectrix, DJ Secret Weapon free 8pm Blue Beat, Double Bay Latinos FM 12th Birthday Party DJ Angel Montoya $20 (+ bf) 9pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Bass Mafia Baauer (USA), Spenda C, Samrai, Blackmale, Taylor Wolf, Nemo sold out 10pm Django Bar, Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Breaks Of Asia DJ Coco Varma (UK), Groovelands Soundsystem, DJ Sheerien, Ben Walsh, Bobby Singh 9.30pm Goodgod Front Bar, Sydney Yo Grito! Yo Grito! DJs free 9pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Dance Party Of The Century Destiny’s Chill, Daddy Banga, Del $5 11pm

The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park Example (UK) $60.50 (+ bf) pm all-ages Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour The Guestlist Resident DJs 9pm Jacksons On George, Sydney $5 @ 5 On Fridays Resident DJs free 5pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Fridays Resident DJs 10pm Marquee, The Star, Pyrmont Mashup Fridays Official Launch Party Supersquare, The Faders, DJ Georgia, Zero Cool, K-Note, Tenzin $30 10pm Oatley Hotel We Luv Oatley Hotel Fridays Resident DJ free 8pm Omega Lounge, City Tattersalls Club, Sydney Unwind Fridays DJ Greg Summerfield free 5.30pm Oxford Art Factory - Gallery Bar, Darlinghurst Lonely Kids Club Winter Range Launch Party Moonbase Commander, Embassy, Cherax Destructor, Lang Low With Lloy, East To West DJs free 8pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Soft & Slow Andras Fox, Pink Lloyd, Dreamcatcher $10 11.59pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross TGIF Resident DJs 10pm The World Bar, Kings Cross MUM Pop The Hatch, Simo Soo, Jor Ja, Roleo, This Mess, Bambii, JK Rollin, Swim Team, Bass Towers, Safia, The Fontaynes, The Owls $10-$15 8pm

SATURDAY APRIL 27

SUNDAY JUNE 24

Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Van She Tech, Bernie Dingo, Isbjorn free 8pm Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst Subclub Rodriguez Jr, Pau, Uone, Muska, Mike Witcombe, Inglorious Bastards, LeOCh, Jonathan Lukermann, Trena, Garth Linton, MSG, Marcotix $20$30 9pm Candy’s Apartment, Kings Cross Ritual Vengeance, Sherlock Bones, Kitsch, Stalker, Digital T, Mind Tricks, Soniboy, Shark Bait, Mass Afekt 8pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Ben Klock (GER), Motez, Offtapia, Whitecat & U-Khan, Fingers, King Lee, Georgia, Andrew Wowk $15-$25 9pm Club 77, Darlinghurst Starfuckers Starfuckers DJs 10pm FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Hands Up! Clockwerk free 11.30pm Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale Afterlife Drum & Bass Vertigo, FKNA, Billy Green, Jayem, Xsetra, Mr Pink, Commit, Massif, Future, Fabs free 9pm Goldfish, Kings Cross Super Flu (GER), Johnny Gleeson, Matt Cahill, Lee M Kelsall, Mars Monero $20 6pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Pop That Sampology, Shantan, Levins $15 11pm The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park Enhanced Australia Tour Daniel Kandi, Estiva, Beat Service, Will Holland, Nick Arbor, Thomas Knight $60.50 6pm Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour Homemade Saturdays Resident DJs $20-$25 9pm

Ivy, Sydney Chinese Laundry Garden Party Eats Everything (UK), Baauer (USA), Spenda C, Samrai, A-Tonez, Adam Zae, Hydraulix, Astrix, Mike Hyper, Sydney Be Heard DJs, Cheap Lettus, Magic Bird, Chenzo $50 (+ bf) 12pm Ivy, Sydney Pacha Dada Life (SWE), DJ Woody, Ember, Danny T, John Glover, Matt Nugent, Devola, Fingers, Pat Ward, Adam Bozzetto, Pablo Calamari, Backhanders, Kid Crookes, Polina, Hansom, Program $40 6.30pm Jacksons On George, Sydney Resident DJs free 9pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Kitty Kitty Bang Bang Resident DJs 10pm Marquee, The Star, Pyrmont Feenixpawl $30 (+ bf) 9pm Marrickville Bowling Club The UFO Club Variety Show Defunk (CAN), Dysphemic & Miss Eliza, Hugo & Treats, Ryanosaurus $25 8pm Phoenix Bar, Darlinghurst Swagger - Black & White DJ Trey, Swag Residents $10$15 10pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross The Suite Resident DJs 8pm The Sly Fox, Enmore Shake That Monkey Prize, Luny P, Typhonic, esSense free 9pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice Mario Basanov (LT), Lee M Kelsall, James Taylor, Cassette $25 10pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Trademark Saturdays Oakes & Lennox, Robbie S, Damn, Cadell, Steve Play, Troy T, MC Deekay 9pm The Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Skybar Saturdays Resident DJ $20 9.30pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Harvard Bass (USA), Go Freek, NatNoiz, John Glover, Kato, Mike Hyper, Deckhead, Heke, Hannah Gibbs, Brown Bear, Kid Crookes, Pablo Calamari, Kids In The Attic $15-$20 8pm

SUNDAY APRIL 28 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H Sundays – Ken Cloud, Jonathan Lukerman, Steven Sullivan, Magic Bird, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace $10 2pm The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills Beresford Sundays Resident DJs free 3pm Jacksons On George, Sydney Aphrodisiac Industry Night Resident DJ free 9pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Easy Sundays Resident DJs free 10pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Sessions DJ Tone free 7pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Sapphire Sundays Resident DJs 8pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice After Hours Murat Kilic $20 4am Vic On The Park, Enmore One Day Sundays JayTee, Prince V, Adit, Raph free 12pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Soup Kitchen Soup Kitchen DJs free 7pm BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13 :: 35

Deep Impressions

club picks

Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery

up all night out all week...

WEDNESDAY APRIL 24 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Urthboy, Allday free 8pm Civic Underground, Sydney House Of Mince Boris (GER), Matt Vaughan, Ben Drayton, Lovertits $20 (+ bf) 10pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice Oxia (FRA), Murat Kilic, Robbie Lowe, Steven Sullivan $20 10pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Eptic (BEL), Kid Kenobi, Devola, Jace Disgrace, Fingers, Garage Pressure, Brown Bear, Pablo Calamari, Clockwerk, Hitterswitch, Step Brothers $5 8pm

THURSDAY APRIL 25 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway Bad Apple Mosca, James Cotterill, Garry Todd, Preacha vs Ben Fester, Bad Apples DJs, Matt Weir, Gabby, Fivers, Le Brond, Glitch DJs, Hannah Gibbs, Dan Baartz, Shivers, Kali $15-$25 (+ bf) 1pm

FRIDAY APRIL 26 Django Bar, Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Breaks Of Asia DJ Coco Varma (UK), Groovelands Soundsystem, DJ Sheerien, Ben Walsh, Bobby Singh 9.30pm The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park Example (UK) $60.50 (+ bf) 8pm allages Marquee, The Star, Pyrmont Mashup Fridays Official Launch Party Supersquare, The Faders, DJ Georgia, Zero Cool, K-Note, Tenzin $30 10pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Soft & Slow Andras Fox, Pink Lloyd, Dreamcatcher $10 11.59pm

LOOKING DEEPER

Dialectrix

SATURDAY APRIL 27 Superflu The Goldfish

Rodriguez Jr. The Burdekin

SATURDAY MAY 4 Nina Kraviz The Grounds Alexandria

SATURDAY MAY 11 Richie Hawtin

SATURDAY APRIL 27 Chinese Laundry, Sydney Ben Klock (GER), Motez, Offtapia, Whitecat & U-Khan, Fingers, King Lee, Georgia, Andrew Wowk $15-$25 9pm Goldfish, Kings Cross Super Flu (GER), Johnny Gleeson, Matt Cahill, Lee M Kelsall, Mars Monero $20 6pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Pop That Sampology, Shantan, Levins $15 11pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice Mario Basanov (LT), Lee M Kelsall, James Taylor, Cassette $25 10pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Harvard Bass (USA), Go Freek, NatNoiz, John Glover, Kato, Mike Hyper, Deckhead, Heke, Hannah Gibbs, Brown Bear, Kid Crookes, Pablo Calamari, Kids In The Attic $15-$20 8pm

SUNDAY APRIL 28 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H Sundays – Ken Cloud, Jonathan Lukerman, Steven Sullivan, Magic Bird, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace $10 2pm

Sundays

N

ever one to rest on his laurels, minimal techno pioneer Richie Hawtin has announced minMAX, a new series designed to bring his Minus and PLUS 8 labels closer together. As with all of Hawtin’s projects, there’s a complex concept underscoring this release, and it’s only fitting if Richie’s own words are used to (or at least attempt to) explain the genesis of minMAX. “‘min’ represents a further push into the world of subtraction… while ‘MAX’ continues to push an envelope in intensity and structure,” Hawtin stated in his recent press outings. “‘minMAX’ better represents the varied styles and rhythms that you might find yourself entangled with while listening to one of my performances… and in those perfectly synchronous moments, dance!”

Whether or not you take much from the mad scientist’s ramblings, minMAX is certainly worth a listen. The compilation will feature a dozen new tracks from the likes of Mathew Jonson – who is about to release a new album for Crosstown Rebels – Gaiser and Argentina’s Barem, who got acquainted with Sydney dancers through sets at the Spice Cellar and S.A.S.H recently. The second disc curated by DJ Hobo features some of the exclusives from the first disc and incorporates them with other Minus cuts.

One of the standout performers of last year’s Fusion Festival (Berlin’s biggest festival of the summer), German duo Superflu, will headline the Gold Fish in Kings Cross this Saturday night. With a playful and robust take on tech house sounds that fuses quirky pop influences with out-and-out techno, Superflu are a hugely popular drawcard on the European club and festival circuit. Further to their DJ prowess, Superflu are also no slouch as producers, having reworked the likes of Cascandy, Dominik Eulberg and Format:B to memorable effect. Over the past five years, they’ve also released a series of solo cuts that do the business on a dancefloor at anytime of the day or night.

Superflu touch down in Australia fresh from releasing their new single ‘Va Ga Va Ga,’ a worthy addition to their discography and a good introduction for any uninitiated listeners.

Twin techno titans Juan Atkins and Moritz von Oswald will join forces

Vakula Marrickville Bowling Club

Vakula

under the moniker Borderland for a new collaborative album that will be released in June. The project marks the first time the pair has directly collaborated in two decades, though each has assisted the other behind the scenes: Atkins offered his mixing prowess and two edits on Thomas Fehlmann & Moritz von Oswald’s project 3MB from back in the early ‘90s, while Oswald engineered much of Model 500’s R&S catalogue. According to a press release, the eponymously titled album’s sound is skewed toward club-orientated electronic music that also allows for organic musical experimentation.

Detroit techno auteur Carl Craig will helm the next edition of Ministry Of Sound’s Masterpiece mix series, following on from the likes of Andrew Weatherall and Francois K. The concept for the series involves the selector drawing upon separate influences and inspirations across three discs, something Craig has done in contrasting ways across each disc of his first official mix since Sessions for the !K7 label back in ’08, which was completely made up of Craig’s own recordings, remixes and edits under his various aliases. Craig’s relationship with radio apparently also had a strong influence over his curating of the Masterpiece release, with Craig stating via his press henchmen that: “even though all of my professional career I’ve been travelling around the world and my scope of music is very global, how I listen to music is still very rooted to how I listen to radio, how it is now, and how it was in Detroit when I was growing up.” He apparently dedicated the first disc to tracks that have inspired him of late and the second to tracks used in his recent club sets, while the final disc will be comprised entirely of new compositions made exclusively for the release. Craig’s Masterpiece mix drops in June.

Carl Craig

28 APRIL

Ken Cloud

Jonathan Lükermann Steven Sullivan U-Khan Magic Bird Matt Weir Kerry Wallace Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com 36 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

snap

live reviews

up all night out all week . . .

Walking into the Oxford Art Factory to hear Ann Peebles’ ‘Somebody’s On Your Case’ played next to Bobby Womack’s ‘The Bravest Man In The Universe’ gave me the feeling that it was going to be a good night. It was. New York MC Pharoahe Monch held nothing back as he delivered a high-energy set that had the whole venue offering a middle finger salute to the police.

VJ duo NTSC warmed up first and provided a good selection of hip hop with entertaining videos such as the blaxploitation parody of DJ Nu-Mark’s ‘Dumpin Em All’, ending their slot by inviting Sydney-based artist P Smurf to rhyme over his own video. New Zealand crew @Peace certainly won some new fans with their jazzy second-billed slot.

The spirit of Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock filled the room as the two MCs rapped about weed, love and improving the world. Standard topics, tackled with style – the band deserved their encore.

“How many motherfuckers like lyrics?!”

We all do, Monch, and we could hear them all as he ran through ‘Assassins’, the LL Cool J-sampling ‘Damage’ and ‘What It Is’, delivering every intense syllable

as clear as day. Many of his rhymes deplore violence and spit in the face of authority so I found it an irony that his white v-neck T was adorned with militarystyle epaulettes and that a dog-tag hung around his neck. DJ Boogie Blind of The X-Ecutioners provided an interlude of double-copy brilliance and dropped crowd-pleasing excerpts of ‘Sound Of Da Police’ and ‘Fuck Tha Police’ as Monch urged police brutality to stop and asked us to clap to ‘Clap (One Day)’ in protest. I’m not sure many present had experienced questionable run-ins with the law but with Monch orchestrating passionately it was powerful nonetheless.

Hip hop’s ubiquitous bomb drop welcomed crossover hit ‘Oh No!’ with an excited crowd taking on Nate Dogg’s chorus duties, before a near riot ensued with the opening Godzilla sample of monster ‘Simon Says’. The last verse of encore song ‘The Light’ was delivered over Michael Jackson’s ‘Butterflies’ as lighters were held aloft. It was the classic rap show, overseen by one of the masters.

hot damn

11:04:13 :: Q Bar :: 34-44 Oxford St Darlinghurst Sydney 9331 3100

David Wild

pharoahe monch

chance waters

PICS :: TL

Oxford Art Factory Saturday April 13

PICS :: TL

PHAROAHE MONCH, @PEACE, NTSC

PICS :: TL

What we've been to see...

12:04:13 :: The Standard :: 3/383 Bourke St Darlinghurst 9331 3100

12:04:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711 S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO)

OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

:: KATE LEWIS :: ASHLEY MAR

::

BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13 :: 37

snap

pam

PICS :: TL

up all night out all week . . .

compound

PICS :: KL

10:04:13 :: Tatler :: 169 Darlinghurst Rd Darlinghurst 0406 464 464

s.a.s.h sundays

PICS :: AM

13:04:13 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587

ribongia single launch

PICS :: TL

14:04:13 :: The Abercrombie Hotel :: 100 Broadway Ultimo 9211 3486

PICS :: AM

ellen allien

r端f端s

13:04:13 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999 38 :: BRAG :: 509 :: 22:04:13

PICS :: TL

12:04:13 :: Brighton Up Bar :: 1/77 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9572 6322

12:04:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711 S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO)

OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

:: KATE LEWIS :: ASHLEY MAR

::

NEW DANCE MUSIC

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It’s their unique sound that they are bringing to the newest edition of the Sessions Volume 4 – their trademark quality and innovation of their criticallyacclaimed remixes and original productions has pushed them to a pinnacle of their profression. The CD features their remixes of • AFROJACK • BINGO

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WILD NIGHTS 2013 Wild Night returns with over 60 stompin’ party fave’s over 3 discs. This time on mix duties; Bomb Squads finest’s Krunk! & Kones plus Melbourne’s own Mobin Master & Tate Strauss.

Wild Nights 2013 features all of your favourite party hits as well as new and exclusive mixes of Harlem Shake, I need your Love & Can’t Hold Us + tracks from: AVICII & NICKY ROMERO • HARDWELL • STEVE AOKI • NEON TREES

DISCLOSURE • BOMBS AWAY • BINGO PLAYERS & FAR EAST MOVEMENT • DIZZEE RASCAL • DIRTY SOUTH • DASH BERLIN • UBERJAK’D & loads more!

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This 2x CD compilation is expertly mixed by the hardstyle masters • NOISECONTROLLERS (Bas Oskam and Arjan Terpstra), and features tracks from • BRENNAN HEART • HEADHUNTERZ • WILDSTYLEZ &

DASH BERLIN. Q-Dance was founded in 1999 in the Netherlands and focused on harder styles of dance music – hardcore, hardstyle, techno, dubstyle and hardhouse.

The brand has grown to host events such as Qlimax, Q-Base, Q-Dance, Defqon, IQON (all recognisable by their ‘Q’) as well as a radio station, Q-Dance Radio.

IQON – Experience The Beyond is a must have for all ravers and hardstyle punters!

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Covering the best in modern progressive, trance and big room club sounds, four exclusive Above & Beyond productions are also among the compilation’s many highlights – including the heart-swelling piano intro ‘SMALL MOMENTS’ , the dark instrumental club anthem ‘WALTER WHITE’ and the relentless Above & Beyond Club Mix of ‘BLACK ROOM BOY‘ from the trio’s critically acclaimed second artist album Group Therapy.

In addition you can also expect to find material from the likes of ARTY • ANDREW BAYER • NORIN & RAD and KYAU & ALBERT, amongst 2x CDs.

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Behringer 502 Mixer

$199

$895

$973

EV ELX112P 12” Powered Speaker

$95

$145

KRK KNS-6400 Headphones

KRK KNS-8400 Headphones

EV ELX115P 15” Powered Speaker

$987

$445

Yamaha MG124CX-R 12 Channel Mixer

PAIR!

MBOX3 Mini w/ PT Express

$847

$959

Yamaha MSR400 Powered Speaker

Behringer 15” Powered Speaker w/MP3 Player

Cerwin Vega 8” Dual 3-Way 400W Powered Speaker

RME Babyface USB Audio Interface

$289

$439

$289

$295

Avid Mobile Pre

$89

Rode USB broadcast Vocal mic

Shure SVX Wireless w/ PG58 head

$179 $ $17

$89

$59

Roland V-Studio Interface

$129

DBX Active DI

DBX Passive DI

$959

Shure BETA58a Vocal Mic

PAIR! R!

Allen & Heath ZED60-10FX Mixer PURE WHITE

Yamaha Stagepas 400i

GREY EDITION

$399 $339 Fostex PM0.3 Studio Monitors

$149

Zoom H2n Digital Recorder

$219

$299

KRK Rokit 5

Novation 49 Key USB Controller Roland BR80 Digital Recorder

$299

$197

KRK Rokit 6

$269

$439

$379

$279 Novation 25 Key USB Controller

Fostex PM0.4N Studio Monitors

Novation 61 Key USB Controller

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Event 20/20BAS

Stanton DJC.4 Controller

$700

$649

$479 Novation Mininova Wavetable Synth

Novation Ultranova Wavetable Synth

$779 Roland Juno DI Mobile Synth